An 18-tonne humpback whale carcass has been lifted from the sand at South City Beach, but the threat it brought with it is far from over — authorities have now extended a shark warning to cover the entire Perth Metropolitan coastline as great white and tiger sharks continue to hunt in the shallows.
The massive 13-metre animal was finally secured for removal on Thursday afternoon, with a large industrial crane using slings to hoist it from the beach where it had spent the previous night after being dragged several hundred metres along the shoreline from its original wash-up point earlier in the week. Dozens of workers spent several hours in a complex preparation process before the carcass — tail protruding from the back of the vehicle — was loaded and transported away.
Great White Spotted 15 Metres from Shore During Removal Operation
While crews were still finalising the transport of the whale, the Westpac Surf Life Saving helicopter was conducting aerial surveillance overhead when it began circling low over City Beach. With its siren blaring, the aircraft made a low-flying pass to alert people on shore to a three-metre great white shark swimming just 15 metres from the water's edge, heading south towards the city.
Shortly after, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) issued an updated shark warning covering the full Perth Metropolitan area. The alert followed reports that a tagged great white had been detected five times within a two-hour window by a receiving station near Scarborough Beach earlier that morning. Multiple further detections of tagged great white and tiger sharks were recorded off Scarborough and Trigg throughout the day.
Authorities have consistently warned that the scent trail left by the decomposing whale will continue to draw apex predators into nearshore waters for days, if not weeks. Organic material left behind on the seabed is expected to require several tide cycles to fully disperse.
Tragedy Casts a Shadow: Perth's Third Fatal Shark Attack This Year
The heightened sense of danger at Perth's beaches comes just three weeks after the tragic death of 63-year-old Greg O'Neill, who was fatally mauled by a five-metre great white shark while swimming at Sorrento Beach. O'Neill was also only 15 metres from the shore when he was attacked in front of horrified onlookers. He was the third person to die in a fatal shark attack in Western Australia this year.
That backdrop has made authorities and beach-goers acutely aware of the additional risk posed by the whale carcass drawing sharks into populated swimming areas.
City Beach Remains Closed as Costs Mount
City Beach is currently closed to the public, with the Town of Cambridge awaiting official guidance from relevant authorities before any decision is made to reopen. In an indication of just how all-hands-on-deck the response has been, council staff — including librarians — were pulled from their regular duties to stand guard at beach entrances during the recovery effort.
The full cost of removing the whale has not yet been confirmed, though early estimates suggested ratepayers could be looking at a bill of around $100,000.
DPIRD has urged all Perth Metropolitan beachgoers to exercise "additional caution" in the coming days. In a statement, a spokesperson said beach users should comply with any closures issued by Local Government Rangers or Surf Life Saving WA, adding: "It is possible that the frequency and duration of the recent reported sightings and tagged shark detections may increase the likelihood of encountering a shark."
With decomposing material still washing through the water and multiple sharks confirmed in the area, officials are making clear that the removal of the carcass from the sand is only the beginning — the ocean itself remains a very different story.
