Council facing hefty bill to remove whale carcass from popular beach - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A stinking whale carcass has still not been removed from City Beach in Perth, as authorities work out the logistics of transporting it to landfill. 

Drum lines have been set in the water in an attempt to tag sharks lured to the area.

The Town of Cambridge will ask the state government to help pay for the removal of the carcass.

Authorities are hoping to tag sharks lured to one of Perth's most popular beaches by a whale carcass, as they try to work out how to transport the 10-metre specimen to landfill. 

Beaches in the Town of Cambridge remain closed after the dead whale washed up at City Beach early yesterday morning, attracting sharks within metres of the shoreline. 

Mayor Gary Mack told 102.5 ABC Perth the council was getting quotes from contractors to take the stinking carcass to landfill, since it was not viable to tow it out to sea. 

The decomposing whale carcass remained on the beach this morning. (ABC News: Lucy Murray)

In 2014, the state government ended up paying half of the $188,000 bill to remove a whale carcass from Scarborough Beach after a stoush erupted over who should bear the cost. 

It ended up taking three days to have that carcass cleaned up and removed. 

"I've been warned by people that were involved in the Scarborough incident ... that it is going to be expensive," Mr Mack said. 

"But one thing we do know is that we can't wait, we've got to get that carcass removed as soon as possible and that's our intent."

Mr Mack said the council would ask the state government to contribute to the cost of removing it. 

Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis said she had not been briefed on the cost, which was a matter for the Town of Cambridge and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).

"Generally local governments manage these types of things on beaches, that is part of their responsibility, but I won’t provide further comment," she said.

Wildlife photographer Tom Kavanagh captured drone footage of sharks swimming close to the shore at City Beach yesterday as a large crowd gathered to watch the spectacle.

More onlookers have been drawn to the whale carcass at City Beach. (ABC News)

Ms Jarvis confirmed drum lines had been placed in the water in a bid to tag sharks circling the beach.

Jackie Jarvis says fisheries officers will make every effort to tag sharks attracted to the area.  (ABC News: Keane Bourke)

"We make use of opportunistic tagging opportunities … and we'll tag as many sharks as we can," she said.

But she described any tagging operation as a "mammoth task" and said its success was dependent on weather conditions. 

"It is quite an onerous task, pulling a 3-metre shark up against the boat and essentially doing minor surgery on it," she said. 

Choppy conditions and bad weather made it even more difficult for fisheries officers to catch and kill the shark that fatally mauled swimmer Greg James O'Neill at Sorrento Beach earlier this month. 

Authorities will try to tag sharks lured by the whale carcass. (ABC News)

The DBCA's website states numerous previous attempts to tow whale carcasses out to sea had been unsuccessful, largely due to the Leeuwin current, which made it likely the carcasses would return to shore. 

Ms Jarvis also shed light on why the City Beach whale could not be simply towed out to sea. 

"My understanding is if the carcass is dragged out further in these type of weather conditions, it increases the chances of the carcass being broken up and washing back onto shore and therefore causing more shark activity," she said. 

Sharks have been circling near the shore at City Beach. (ABC News: Lucy Murray)

It could be days before City Beach and Floreat Beach are reopened, with Mr Mack saying that would not happen until every part of the carcass was removed. 

He said people should be mindful that oils from the carcass would remain in the water even after it was taken away.