News & Alerts

Update on 6 April at 4.35pm:

Beaches will remain closed from Cosy Corner to Bobs Hollow until 4.30pm on Monday (9 April), when the situation will be reviewed.

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions officers will continue aerial monitoring over the weekend along the coast near Hamelin Bay.

Update on 5 April at 6.40pm:

Another whale carcass has washed ashore.

Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions have located a whale carcass on the beach north of Boranup. The carcass is just south of Hooley Road.

There are now two whale carcasses along this stretch of beach, as authorities were unable to remove a carcass that was reported north of Hooley Road late yesterday afternoon.

Aerial monitoring will continue.

Beach closures remain in place and will be reviewed tomorrow, before the weekend.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Update on 4 April at 5pm:

There have been another two reports of whale carcasses washed ashore near Hamelin Bay.

One carcass is ashore north of Boranup near Hooley Road, which is in a similar location to a carcass that was removed from this location earlier today.

A second carcass has been reported at Contos Beach near Sloping rock.

Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions are attending these locations now and will make an assessment on removing the carcasses early tomorrow morning.

Beaches remain closed in the area between Cosy Corner and Conto Springs. Aerial monitoring will continue.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Update on 3 April at 5pm:

Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions have identified another whale carcass washed ashore near Hamelin Bay. The carcass was observed during an aerial surveillance flight earlier today and it was reported to be on the beach north of Boranup, just adjacent to Hooley Road. 

Aerial flights are to continue as officers search for any other carcasses.

Beach closures have been extended until Friday 6th April and the area of the closure has been enlarged to include Cosy Corner, which is south of Hamelin Bay.

Beaches are now closed in the area between Cosy Corner and Bobs Hollow. The closures will be reviewed prior to this coming weekend.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Update on 2 April at 1.05pm:

Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) have today confirmed another whale carcass has washed ashore near Hamelin Bay.

A report from the public was received late yesterday and rangers attended today at Deepdene Beach, south of Hamelin Bay, and have now confirmed another dead pilot whale is on the beach in a decomposed state.

DBCA officers are continuing to monitor beaches North and South of Hamelin Bay and are also using a spotter plane to monitor the coastline.

A Section 44 notice has been put in place by DBCA, from Hamelin Bay to Bobs Hollow between the shoreline and two kilometres out to sea, until the notice is reviewed tomorrow (3 April 2018).

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Update on 1 April at 3.55pm:

Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) have made significant progress removing most of the whale carcasses that washed ashore, between Hamelin Bay and Bobs Hollow, during the past few days. 

Two of the carcasses remain near Conto Springs and around Midday another whale carcass was discovered washed ashore at Foul Bay, south of Hamelin Bay Headland.

Beaches remain closed in the area between Hamelin Bay and Bobs Hollow.

A Section 44 notice has been applied to this area by DBCA and the waters along this part of the coast, between the shoreline and two kilometres out to sea, are formally closed by this order until 3 April 2018.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Update on 31 March at 4pm:

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)has worked toward removing the final whale carcasses from the Hamelin Bay area today and a spotter plane has been searching for any others.

DBCA's section 44 order remains in place (see previous update). Caution is still advised for the area.

Update on 29 March at 12.00pm:

Fisheries advises beach users to remain vigilant over the Easter break in the South West Region between Hamelin Bay and Bobs Hollow, due to an elevated risk of shark encounters resulting from recent whale strandings.
 
There are three confirmed carcasses on the shore at present at Contos South Beach (rocks), Boranup North Point (rocks) and at Contos Point. These have been assessed by officers from the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) and are deemed non-recoverable in current weather conditions.

DBCA officers continue to monitor the area.

A Section 44 notice has been applied to this area by DBCA and the waters in this area, between the shoreline and two kilometres out to sea, are now closed until 3 April 2018.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Update on 27 March at 1.15pm:

Fisheries advise that the shark alert is to be extended to Bobs Hollow, two kilometres north of Conto Springs, due to another whale carcass washing ashore.

Beaches are to remain closed today whilst officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions continue to manage the removal effort. The beach closure has been extended and now takes in the coastal area between Bobs Hollow, north of Hamelin Bay, to Cosy Corner, south of Hamelin Bay

Update on 26 March at 4.35pm:

Beach closures are to be extended between Conto Springs, north of Hamelin Bay, to Cosy Corner, south of Hamelin Bay, due to a further whale carcass discovery at Cosy Corner. The carcass has been washed ashore just below the main car park area.

Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions continue to work in this area and are assessing the situation.

Update on 25 March at 1.15pm:

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) officers have extended the beach closure at Hamelin Bay further north to Conto Springs Beach, due to the discovery of four more whales stranded ashore approximately 200 metres south of Contos Springs.

Beach closures will remain in place until further notice. DBCA officers are at the scene and continuing to patrol beaches in this area.

Update on 23 March at 10am:

A Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions incident management team has now closed all beaches between Hamelin Bay and Boranup, until further notice, while they manage the strandings.

An update from the incident management team has confirmed that in excess of 150 whales (mostly short-fin pilot whales) have been stranded, with an estimated 50 per cent mortality. 

Alert issued 23 March 2018 at 7.05am:

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to multiple whale carcasses being reported at Hamelin Bay, near the town of Augusta.

Situation:

• The whale carcasses were reported by a commercial fisherman at 6.00am this morning. Some of the whales remain alive however the majority have washed ashore and are dead.
• The whale carcasses are approximately one kilometre north of the Hamelin Bay boat ramp.
• It is possible the dead and dying animals will act as an attractant, which could lead to sharks coming close in to shore along this stretch of coast.
• While it’s not uncommon for sharks to be present off the Western Australian coast throughout the year, people should exercise additional caution until the stranding incident is resolved.

What to do:

• Take additional caution in the Hamelin Bay area.
• Adhere to beach closures advised by Local Government Rangers or Surf Life Saving WA.
• Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the SharkSmart website or Surf Life Saving WA’s Twitter feed.
• If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600. All shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to response agencies and to the public on the SharkSmart website and the Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed.

What authorities are doing:
Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions are deploying resources and will assess the situation.

Extra information:
Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the Shark Activity Map on the SharkSmart website – www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity or the Surf Life Saving WA Twitter – twitter.com/SLSWA.

Check www.sharksmart.com.au/news for current alerts and warnings.