Hungry great white sharks besiege beach

AUSTRALIA: Large great white sharks have laid siege to one of Australia’s most popular beaches two days after an 18-tonne humpback whale was buried beneath the town’s shoreline.

Residents had expressed worries that the dead whale - even after it was buried would lure big sharks. Their concerns were vindicated yesterday when shark detectors spotted 21 great white movements near Nobbys Beach at Port Macquarie, a holiday town 400km north of Sydney. Swimmers and surfers have been warned to stay out of the water just as eastern Australia prepares for what forecasters say may be the hottest September weekend on record.

‘‘I definitely won’t be swimming in the water - absolutely not,’’ Geoff Shelton, a senior skipper of the Port Macquarie Marine Rescue service, said. The 12m whale died on the beach on Monday after it became ensnared in ropes lost overboard from a lobster boat. Wildlife experts have said they believe the tangled whale struggled for more than 1600km before it died of exhaustion.

When the town’s council announced later on Monday that the dead whale would have to be buried beneath the beach, locals angrily objected, fearing that its decomposition would attract large sharks.

They were overuled by officials who said that there were no other options.

Kristy Kawaguchi, a marine biologist, said that the best solution would have been to take the dead whale offshore.

‘‘However, the rocks and tide made it difficult for them to do that. It was in a very tough location,’’ she said.

- The Times