Crown Lands removed the whale carcass from the Clarence River west of Iluka on the Mid North Coast on Sunday afternoon, after it was reported to volunteer whale rescue organisation ORRCA at 1:30pm on Saturday. ORRCA said there were concerns the juvenile humpback may have been stranded, but volunteers found it deceased.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development issued a warning via Shark Smart social media accounts, stating that increased shark activity had been reported in the area.
Macquarie University marine biologist Culum Brown said the smell of the carcass would persist. "If it's been there for that long it will already be leaching all sorts of good smells into the river and the surrounds, and the sharks will certainly be able to smell that for a long way," he said. "I would be making sure that nobody was swimming in the river or the adjacent beaches."
Dr Brown advised staying out of the water for the next week or so, noting this coincided with the long weekend. He expressed surprise that the whale had travelled 11 kilometres up the river, suggesting it might have separated from its mother.
Footage of the deceased whale was recorded by Brooms Head photographer Amiria Takarangi, who described filming the animal as unsettling.