{"id":121918,"date":"2026-06-22T10:23:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T00:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T11:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T01:04:28","slug":"removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"Removal begins after whale carcass closes Bells Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Authorities will attempt to remove a decomposing humpback whale carcass from Bells Beach on Monday morning as the iconic surf break remains closed over fears it could attract sharks to the area.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 600px; height: 338px; margin: 20px auto; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden; display: block;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1413326243889783&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=600\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The carcass of the juvenile whale was first spotted on Sunday by members of the Torquay Boardriders Club during a surfing competition.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery prompted the immediate closure of Bells Beach and nearby Winkipop amid warnings the carcass could attract sharks closer to shore and create public health concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the removal effort, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners gathered on the beach to conduct a smoking ceremony beside the whale.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) will use machinery to remove as much of the carcass as possible from the beach, but overnight tides have broken it apart and scattered remains along the shoreline<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_121920\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-121920\" style=\"width: 637px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-121920 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.24.15-am.png?_t=1782088215\" alt=\"\" width=\"637\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.24.15-am.png 2194w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.24.15-am-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.24.15-am-1024x503.png 1024w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.24.15-am-768x377.png 768w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.24.15-am-1536x755.png 1536w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.24.15-am-2048x1006.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-121920\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Dean Snow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>DEECA coastal management officer Alex Lines said the carcass broke apart in overnight tides, leaving remains strewn along the beach.<\/p>\n<p>A large portion of the whale was also washing around the corner to Winkipop.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_121921\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-121921\" style=\"width: 637px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-121921 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am.png?_t=1782088228\" alt=\"\" width=\"637\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am.png 2222w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am-1024x488.png 1024w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am-768x366.png 768w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am-1536x733.png 1536w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am-2048x977.png 2048w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.23.16-am-350x167.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-121921\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Dean Snow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We won&#8217;t be able to get to it due to the lack of access,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We will have play that by ear as to whether it washed up somewhere else or goes out to sea.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>DEECA has installed signage at the Bells Beach staircase warning visitors to stay away from the area while the clean-up operation is under way.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got signage up at Bells to let people know to stay away, there is more shark activity, and the smell is quite rotten,&#8221; Lines said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We advise the public to exercise caution, even when coming to look at the site.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Authorities will attempt to remove a decomposing humpback whale carcass from Bells Beach on Monday morning as the iconic surf break remains closed over fears it could attract sharks to the area. The carcass of the juvenile whale was first spotted on Sunday by members of the Torquay Boardriders Club during a surfing competition. The [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":121919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-121918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Removal begins after whale carcass closes Bells Beach - Bellarine Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bells Beach closed as authorities rush to remove a decomposing humpback whale carcass before it attracts sharks. 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Read the latest on the cleanup efforts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bellarine Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T00:23:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T01:04:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/Your-paragraph-text-2026-06-22T102212.821.png?_t=1782090269\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nathan Rivalland\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833\"},\"headline\":\"Removal begins after whale carcass closes Bells Beach\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T00:23:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-22T01:04:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":306,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Your-paragraph-text-2026-06-22T102212.821.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/\",\"name\":\"Removal begins after whale carcass closes Bells Beach - Bellarine Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/removal-begins-after-whale-carcass-closes-bells-beach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Your-paragraph-text-2026-06-22T102212.821.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T00:23:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-22T01:04:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"Bells Beach closed as authorities rush to remove a decomposing humpback whale carcass before it attracts sharks. 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