Whale of a smelly problem
N.L. village wants massive corpse removed
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. • A tiny Newfoundland village is hoping to quickly remove the massive body of a humpback whale that has been stuck there since last fall, fearing the impending odour and mess as warmer weather approaches.
The whale’s body was frozen and covered with snow for the winter months in Nameless Cove but has become an urgent issue for the village.
“The warmer temperatures are coming and you obviously know what’s gonna happen next,” Hank Diamond, a member of the local service district committee, said Wednesday.
“You won’t be able live in that community in the summer, probably, if you don’t move it.”
Nameless Cove is waiting on a quote from contractors, and Diamond said the community is hoping for provincial assistance to remove the sizable creature that he estimates to be 25-30 feet long.
“It would take a fairly fairsized vessel to move that off the beach even at high tide, you know, and it seems to be settling in the sand more, so it’s gonna be harder and harder to get outta there, and it’s starting to rot.”
The body is in close proximity to some residences, wharfs, and is less than 100 metres from a graveyard.
The beach is also a tourist attraction for its proximity to Flowers Island. The whale’s body is in the line of vision for anyone who tries to snap a photo of the island’s famed lighthouse.
Diamond reached out to Service NL after Fisheries and Oceans Canada told Nameless Cove the removal of the whale carcass is the municipality’s responsibility. In a statement, Service NL said it is working with the district and “the whale will have to be moved and disposed of, either by towing it to a more secluded location to decompose or by burial.”
Dead smelly whales are not uncommon an issue: Last June, a dead humpback was lifted by crane in Outer Cove and taken to a disposal site.