A number of Australian surfing beaches have been closed to the public after the remains of a dead humpback whale washed up on the shore, attracting sharks to the area.
The 14-metre-long decomposed carcass was discovered on Thirteenth Beach near Barwon Heads in southern Victoria on Friday morning.
Surf Live Saving Victoria has closed beaches between Ocean Grove and Thirteenth Beach to protect surfers and bathers, with a warning not to enter the water.
Photographer Steve Arklay He was among dozens of people who gathered at the site on Friday morning.
Arklay, who lives in Barwon Heads, about 2 kilometres from the beach, told Daily Mail Australia that friends told him the body washed up on the beach on Thursday night.
“There were a lot of people looking around when I arrived this morning,” he said.
“The corpse smells bad and it’s going to get worse.”
He said the creature’s remains would have been floating in the water for some time before the tide washed them ashore.
Beachgoers discovered the decomposed carcass of the humpback whale on Friday morning (pictured)
Parts of the whale’s decomposing tail have also washed away in the ocean waves.
Mr Arklay said officials had allowed locals to enter the beach and approach the body.
“The Victorian Fisheries Authority was not concerned about people getting too close,” he said.
‘There were a lot of people walking along the beach.’
It is unclear when the whale will be removed from the area and Arklay said the remains are unlikely to be moved in the coming days.
VFA officers are assisting wildlife officers and rangers with the management of the carcass according to an alert issued by Vic Emergency last night.
“The Victorian Fisheries Authority is monitoring shark sightings and providing advice to relevant authorities,” the alert reads.
Arklay said a whale carcass last washed up on the beach four years ago and at the time locals were furious that the remains had been left there to rot.
VFA officers are assisting wildlife officers and rangers with handling the carcass (pictured) and people have been warned about shark activity in the area.
Whales are protected under Victoria’s Wildlife Act and it is an offence for people and their dogs to come within 300 metres of them.
The law also prohibits people from interfering with or being in possession of parts of a dead whale.
Humpback whales migrate from Antarctica to the waters east of Australia and then return between April and November.
They typically mate and give birth in warmer waters and provide people with spectacular whale-watching opportunities during their migration.
