Caution required over whale carcass at an Esperance beach

24 November 2014

The Department of Fisheries is advising water users at Esperance to continue to exercise extra caution, following the sighting of sharks in the location of a whale carcass that washed ashore at Castletown Quays.

The whale carcass was removed by the Shire of Esperance today.

It is possible that oils and remnants from the carcass will continue to act as an attractant that could lead to sharks coming close in to shore along this stretch of coast.

The Shire has erected signs, between Chaplin Street and the car park entry at Castletown Quays and on the beach access at Bandy Creek (western side) warning of the potential hazard. The shire is also recommending that people stay out of the water in that location over the next three days.

While it’s not uncommon for sharks to be present off the Western Australian coast throughout the year, people should exercise additional caution in that location and report any shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Advice is that water users should:

Take additional caution in the Esperance area.
Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the Surf Life Saving Twitter – twitter.com/SLSWA or the SharkSmart activity map www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity
Report any shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600.
Adhere to any beach closures advised by your Local Government Rangers or Surf Life Saving WA.

Shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to response agencies and to the public on the Surf Life Saving Twitter feed.

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