DEAD WHALE
© Glen Bowden
Boardriders clubs and residents are fearful a whale carcass buried at Wurtulla on the weekend has the potential to attract sharks onto one of the region's most popular surfing beaches.

The whale appeared to have already attracted a lot of attention from sharks, and was missing large portions of its bulk by the time it washed ashore at Wurtulla.

Surfers this morning have reported large chunks of whale flesh had also washed ashore at Kawana Pocket on the southern side of Point Cartwright.

A petition launched by Windansea Boardriders with support from Kawana Boardriders had attracted more than 500 signatures within a couple of hours of it being launched with State MP Jarrod Bleijie saying his office had also been inundated with calls.


A council spokesperson said the whale had been buried more than three metres deep and more than 30m back from the high water mark following advice from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

However Windansea president Terry Landsberg said two councils in NSW had responded to community concerns digging up whales buried on beaches at South Ballina wall and Port Macquarie in the past month.

Mr Landsberg said there was concerns the whale had been buried in sand dunes which were not stable.

The area is directly in front of the new Stockland beachside development and just 200m north of the Wurtulla lifeguard tower.

WHALE
© Glen Bowden
Luke Filippi of Kawana Boardriders said the club held 50% of its monthly competitions right out front of where the whale has been buried causing real concerns about safety.

He said while the hole may be three metres down there was two metres of whale in it at best covered by about a metre of sand.

Mr Filippi said it was an open beach that was in a state of constant change.

"Its not even behind the sand dunes," he said.

Mr Filippi said his club was concerned it may attract sharks, that the sand may collapse as the whale decomposed and the potential for smell to be blown into beachfront homes by onshore winds.

Port Macquarie Surf School owner Wayne Hudson, an honours marine science graduate, organised the petition that led to the NSW state government providing $50,000 in funding to shift a whale buried on Nobby's Beach.

He said there was no credible scientific study available into the potential for buried whale carcasses resulting in leeching into the surf zone and attracting sharks.

Mr Hudson said if it could be proven beyond reasonable doubt there was no concern he would accept that.

In the week it took for an agreement to be reached and funding provided 21-23 pings were recorded on beach's Clever Buoy shark alarm system in an area that normally had only one ping every two to three weeks.

More than 3000 people signed a petition in two days calling for the whale to be exhumed and removed from the beach.

"Within two days parents were pulling their kids out of surf programs," Mr Hudson said. "There was going to be an economic impact."