The whale rescue operation off Tasmania’s west coast has managed to refloat over 30 of the stranded animals – but around 200 could not be rescued.
Core items:
- Another five whales died overnight, 35 were still alive on the beach
- Rescuers who spent yesterday righting whales and keeping them wet today have focused on getting them back to sea
- The incident happened on the same day of the year at the same port as Australia’s worst stranding of 2020
Hundreds of pilot whales stranded yesterday at the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, known as Hell’s Gates.
It was exactly two years to the day since Australia’s worst recorded whale was stranded, also in the same harbor with the same species.
Most whales are stranded on Ocean Beach, while some are on a nearby stretch of sand in the harbor.
At a news conference on Thursday, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service incident controller Brendon Clark said five whales died overnight and just 35 remained alive on the beach this morning.
He said the whales had been in a more exposed area of the coast, in contrast to the 2020 stranding, which took place in “harbour’s sheltered waters” – now believed to be the worst stranding event in Australia’s history.
“Unfortunately, we have a high mortality rate, largely due to the exposed conditions on the beach,” Mr Clark said.
Authorities said all 35 surviving whales were removed from the beach to deeper waters, with two later “stranding again” and returning to shore.
Today’s operation consisted of vehicleing the whales “with the best chance of survival” out of the sand and into the more sheltered waters of nearby Macquarie Heads, to be snared and tied to boats, which would then take them to deeper water drag .
The task of raising the whales was made easier with the help of “mechanical assistance” borrowed from an aquaculture company, with Mr Clark praising local salmon producers for their support in the form of equipment, people and boats.
Kris Carlyon of Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE Tas) said the whales, which had survived as of Thursday, would be “stressed”.
“They had a long time at the beach. Our priority was to get them upright, stabilized, cool and wet,” he said.
dr Carlyon said despite training staff on the ground, it’s “always a confrontation.”
“It will probably hit a lot of us afterwards, but we have systems in place to support staff and volunteers,” he said.
dr Carlyon said it was impossible to tell if the animals on the beach were from the same herd as the one stranded in 2020 because animal tagging would have gone away two years ago.
He said measures such as acoustic devices to deter whales from future strandings have been explored but have so far not proved “workable” in practice.
Whales “squeak”, towels keep them wet
Staff from aquaculture companies Petuna and Huon were also among the first on the scene yesterday, helping to get the whales back to sea.
Petuna Aquaculture’s Tom Mountney said authorities and volunteers are preparing the whales to return to the sea.
“We’re just sort of raising the live whales, getting them onto the beach and then… a little plan of attack will be put in place this afternoon and evening to possibly get them back in the water tomorrow.” [Thursday]’ he said on Wednesday.
“Out of [Thursday] We will use our ships to bring whales into the water and attempt to retrieve them several hundred yards offshore.”
Mr Mountney said rescuers used sheets and buckets to keep the whales wet until they could be taken back to sea.
The whales “splashed a bit” and “growled” and “squeaked” to be heard.
“We’re probably a little desensitized to last time’s deja vu,” he said.
On September 21, 2020, approximately 470 pilot whales were stranded in Macquarie Harbour.
Just over 100 whales were saved.
“We have all the equipment ready for the boats, we know exactly what we have to do.”
Mr Mountney said the weather on Wednesday was mild compared to the “freezing” conditions rescuers had to contend with in 2020.
Strahan’s Huon Aquaculture manager, Linton Kringle, said the stranding of whales had rocked the town again.
“Probably more of a ‘not again’ moment,” he said.
“I still see some [remains of] Whales on the beach from the previous … is [a] memory of what happened,” said Mr. Kringle.
“I think Strahan himself would love to get past that.”
While rescue efforts are ongoing, potential volunteers and well-meaning members of the public are being urged to stay away from the area.
“The most important thing, unless you’re invited by parks or any of the organizations that help, is to stay away,” said West Coast Council general manager David Midson.
“Having extra people can really hamper how they conduct their rescue efforts.”
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment said if a member of the public finds a dead whale they should leave it alone.
“Whales are a protected species, even if deceased, and it is a criminal offense to tamper with a carcass,” the department said.
Second Tasmanian stranding this week
At least 14 sperm whales were reported stranded in another event in the state earlier this week.
The group of young men was spotted Monday on King Island off the state’s northwest coast.
All 14 had already died.
Marine expert Vanessa Pirotta said the causes of whale stranding are still not well understood.
“Whale strandings are a complete mystery,” said Dr. Pirotta, “but what’s really unusual here is that this is the second stranding this week.”
She said that with pilot whales, which are very social animals, there are some common theories about what misleads them.
“So one could be mis-navigation,” said Dr. Pirotta, adding that environmental factors could also potentially come into play.
“The fact that we’ve seen similar species at the same time, in the same place, reappearing in relation to stranding…might provide some sort of clue that there might be something environmental here,” she said.
“The reality is we just don’t know at this point.”
