Dead pilot whale towed off the site of yesterday's (second) Great White attack…
The holy trinity of contest crowds, the year’s annual salmon run and dead whales littered everywhere sure did create a vibrant environment for sharks around Margaret River. Two hits on surfers by Great Whites in one day, neither fatal.
There was a little chatter, yesterday, about why the State’s Department of Fisheries hadn’t removed that damn wounded pilot whale which had swam through the Lefties lineup, beached itself and died. I pointed out that Lefties ain’t the easiest joint to get to and putting a boat close enough to shore to attach ropes to the dead leviathan wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
Well, they did it. Whale gone. Towed off the beach, taken to Gracetown (where, in between North and South Points there’s a boat ramp) loaded onto a trucked and disappeared. Not surprisingly, two Tiger sharks (remember those?) and a Great White followed the boat back around the corner, and past the seal colony, and into Cowaramup Bay.
Beaches remain closed until six pm, local time, although the closure might be extended.
- A Regulation 44 closure notice remains in place for the Gracetown area between North Point and Ellensbrook. This means beaches and waters up to two kilometres out to sea cannot be used by divers, surfers and swimmers. In addition, Fisheries has advised additional caution between Kilcarnup and North Point.
Now, here’s a question.
If you…knew… how many ten-foot-plus Great Whites were around, whether in WA or maybe around your neck o’ the woods, would you accept the odds and still surf?
Go to the Shark Smart website, jump into the shark activity part, and check out what’s been seen or detected in the last week.
Oh, it’s anything but seductive.
A ten-foot White thirty-feet off the beach at Injidup (remember those Cyclone Marcus rights? Yeah, there.) An eight-footer at Gas Bay.
Etc.
And etc.
The WSL will meet at eight am today, local time, to determine whether or not anymore saliva will be sucked out of the event or, as per the wishes of Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira, they’ll beat a very quick retreat.
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“if I leave this world due to a shark I accept my fate.”
And what if you don’t?
Beaches were only closed in the Gracetown area between North Point and Ellensbrook-NOT Mainbreak/Box – pussies.
We see sharks , we get out of the water, have someone on high ground and wait for an hour at least of a clear line up before going back out if at all that day.
Cancelled.
Glad to be of assistance.
High five.
Welcome to BeachGrit
pretty animal but beaked whale, not pilot.
But it does raise the question, seeing as how easy it was for WA fisheries to tow that carcass off the beach, why they don’t do that more often and yes, tow the fuckking thing 20 miles out and dump on the shelf.
The question is , if they can set drumlines , why can’t they monitor whales before they land on the beach…and what about the big whale buried nest to left handers 10 years ago ?
“swam to the lineup thinking surfers, as mammals themselves, would take notice”
Dude, you are obviously living in a children’s fantasy world.
May I join you?
He’s on some good shit!
They are there all the time – I see them periodically but you need to mitigate the risk. if you are surfing whilst a whale carcass is on the beach, whilst salmon are running at dawn where they can come under the sun at dusk etc – well you are asking for trouble!!! Surely its fucking common sense. But also local council/gov need to be made aware if carcass present and remove it. maybe tow 30km off shore and leave there not around the corner to boat ramp to leave scents there??
“I see them periodically ”
Perhaps I assumed your gender a bit too fast, ‘Tom’.
I am female!!! Fuck didn’t you know
I self-identify as a toaster.
Do you have a crumpet setting?
Hmmm.
Not sure. Am still exploring the freedom of my new identity.
All I know yet is that I can bend over, shove slices of bread up my ass and they come out brown.
What would Paul Watson do?
Get drunk and have a rant
Then pilot the Steve Irwin straight through the line up running over any hapless brazzos, over the reef to ram any GW
…while precariously leaning out of his wheelhouse, enraged, throttling an underaged volunteer sex-slave wearing a official Sea-shepherd gimp-mask.
Pretzels or chips?
Aggressively point the finger at everyone else instead of having a good hard look at his own fat oil consuming self in the mirror
Peer over his gut , straining to see his cock, give up and have another beer
If only we treated sharks with the same brutality as this poor whale…. now that would be good.
Do you think the whale ingested too much Stab?