Whale of a smelly problem
N.L. village needs massive carcass removed
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. • A Newfoundland village is hoping to quickly remove the massive body of a humpback whale that has been stuck there since last fall, fearing the 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.
“Warmer temperatures are coming and you obviously know what’s going to happen next,” Hank Diamond, a member of the 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 to 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 going be harder and harder to get out of there, and it’s starting to rot.”
The carcass is near some residences 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 the island’s famed lighthouse.
Diamond reached out to Service NL after Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the whale carcass is the municipality’s responsibility. 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.”
Diamond said DFO officials visited the site last fall, leading many to believe they would return to remove the whale in the spring. Then villagers were surprised and upset when DFO told them it fell outside the department’s responsibility.
“It’s like Russian roulette, whatever community it lands on, it’s on you,” Diamond said. So far, Diamond said the response from Service NL has been encouraging. But the town needs to move fast, with or without government help.
“If they support it or if they don’t, it’s got to move,” said Diamond. “We’ll see to it, I guess.”