City of Greater Geraldton, Media Release, 23 July 2024
An operation to remove an estimated 20 tonne whale carcass from Greys Beach was successfully completed today [23 July 2024].
City of Greater Geraldton CEO Ross McKim said it was the most difficult removal the City has undertaken in more than a decade.
“The management of dead whales this size is difficult, we can manage smaller whales with our own equipment, but this was probably the heaviest whale we’ve had to remove in at least ten years,” he said.
“There were many considerations that the City needed to assess before the carcass could be removed including its formidable size, its distance from the nearest beach access point and the availability of machinery large enough to move the carcass to where it could be loaded onto a truck and taken to landfill.
“As it turned out, a six wheel drive vehicle was needed to drag the carcass 800m to Separation Point where two large cranes working together were needed in order to load the whale onto a truck and deliver it safely to Meru Waste Management Facility.”
A review of the event will be undertaken to refine the City’s protocols for whale carcass removals with an aim towards provision of an emergent budget for management of future environmental clean ups.
More information on whale carcass management is available here
