❓ Question regarding a sudden change in the Department of Parks and Wildlife's policy on towing whale carcasses out to sea, including cost and protocol. The Minister explains the complexities and rationale behind the decision-making process.
AnsweredQoN 871Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT
OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE — WHALE CARCASS
871. Mr D.J. KELLY to the
Minister for Environment:
I refer to the Minister for Environment's department's
repeated insistence until yesterday morning that towing whale carcasses out to
sea was not a viable option and then the decision just hours later to tow a
whale carcass out to sea.
(1) Why the
sudden change to his department's long-held opposition to towing whale
carcasses out to sea?
(2) Can the minister explain the protocol for handling whale
carcasses floating off the coast?
(3) Can the minister detail the cost to taxpayers of
yesterday's towing operation?
OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE — WHALE CARCASS
871. Mr D.J. KELLY to the
Minister for Environment:
I refer to the Minister for Environment's department's
repeated insistence until yesterday morning that towing whale carcasses out to
sea was not a viable option and then the decision just hours later to tow a
whale carcass out to sea.
(1) Why the
sudden change to his department's long-held opposition to towing whale
carcasses out to sea?
(2) Can the minister explain the protocol for handling whale
carcasses floating off the coast?
(3) Can the minister detail the cost to taxpayers of
yesterday's towing operation?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
member for Bassendean for this question.
(1)–(3)
To give some context around when the Department of Parks and Wildlife becomes
involved with whale carcasses, it is not always a matter of the jurisdiction of
the Department of Parks and Wildlife, and that is part of the complexity of
this issue. However, when we end up with a whale that is essentially beached
within a marine park—we are talking predominantly about metropolitan
areas, so those three marine parks that sit in and around the metropolitan area—often
the Department of Parks and Wildlife indeed becomes involved. We become
involved in various different ways. Indeed, the department has attempted three
whale tow-backs in recent years—two in the 1990s and one in 2008—and
they are very complex operations. Often the currents will bring the whales back
in and often the ocean conditions will mean that it simply is not practical to
tow a whale out. It has to be remembered that these are often —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen!
Mr
A.P. JACOB : They are dead whales, so we are essentially talking about a
lump of meat that weighs between 10 and 20 tonnes, and they are not very
aquadynamic when they are being towed backwards. They swim forwards very well,
but they are very heavy and they are often in advanced states of decomposition.
It has been our experience when we have attempted to tow them out that they
have simply broken up into pieces, their lines have become disengaged and the
hazards of towing them out —
Mr
M. McGowan : Why were you saying in the morning no and in the afternoon yes?
Mr
A.P. JACOB : Leader of the Opposition, I am trying to give a relatively comprehensive
answer. I have had about a dozen interjections. It is a very complex matter. We
are trying a range of different strategies, and what we have found, depending
on ocean conditions and on the advanced state of decomposition of the whale, is
that it is often far easier for us to remove them when they arrive on the
beach. We have often provided extensive assistance when it may have become the
local government's responsibility to remove the carcass as well. An
overriding principle for me in this matter is that it is about the safety of
beachgoers, because inevitably a whale —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr A.P. JACOB :
Inevitably, a whale carcass is an attractor for sharks; that is a significant
issue, particularly as we head into summer and given the popularity of a
coastal lifestyle in the Perth region. Often towing a whale out and risking its
break-up as it is taken out will disperse that carcass into many locations
rather than into a single location and make it a far harder issue to manage.
However, when it —
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time. Minister, wind
up your answer, please.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : When it is possible, and when we believe it can solve the issue
and hopefully not see the carcass come back later in a more advanced form of
decomposition, we will attempt a tow out, and that is exactly what happened
yesterday. It was a far smaller whale—around half the size of the one a
week or so earlier—and it also had been in less of a state of
decomposition, so the decision was taken that that was in a state so we could
potentially attempt to tow it out.
member for Bassendean for this question.
(1)–(3)
To give some context around when the Department of Parks and Wildlife becomes
involved with whale carcasses, it is not always a matter of the jurisdiction of
the Department of Parks and Wildlife, and that is part of the complexity of
this issue. However, when we end up with a whale that is essentially beached
within a marine park—we are talking predominantly about metropolitan
areas, so those three marine parks that sit in and around the metropolitan area—often
the Department of Parks and Wildlife indeed becomes involved. We become
involved in various different ways. Indeed, the department has attempted three
whale tow-backs in recent years—two in the 1990s and one in 2008—and
they are very complex operations. Often the currents will bring the whales back
in and often the ocean conditions will mean that it simply is not practical to
tow a whale out. It has to be remembered that these are often —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen!
Mr
A.P. JACOB : They are dead whales, so we are essentially talking about a
lump of meat that weighs between 10 and 20 tonnes, and they are not very
aquadynamic when they are being towed backwards. They swim forwards very well,
but they are very heavy and they are often in advanced states of decomposition.
It has been our experience when we have attempted to tow them out that they
have simply broken up into pieces, their lines have become disengaged and the
hazards of towing them out —
Mr
M. McGowan : Why were you saying in the morning no and in the afternoon yes?
Mr
A.P. JACOB : Leader of the Opposition, I am trying to give a relatively comprehensive
answer. I have had about a dozen interjections. It is a very complex matter. We
are trying a range of different strategies, and what we have found, depending
on ocean conditions and on the advanced state of decomposition of the whale, is
that it is often far easier for us to remove them when they arrive on the
beach. We have often provided extensive assistance when it may have become the
local government's responsibility to remove the carcass as well. An
overriding principle for me in this matter is that it is about the safety of
beachgoers, because inevitably a whale —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr A.P. JACOB :
Inevitably, a whale carcass is an attractor for sharks; that is a significant
issue, particularly as we head into summer and given the popularity of a
coastal lifestyle in the Perth region. Often towing a whale out and risking its
break-up as it is taken out will disperse that carcass into many locations
rather than into a single location and make it a far harder issue to manage.
However, when it —
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time. Minister, wind
up your answer, please.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : When it is possible, and when we believe it can solve the issue
and hopefully not see the carcass come back later in a more advanced form of
decomposition, we will attempt a tow out, and that is exactly what happened
yesterday. It was a far smaller whale—around half the size of the one a
week or so earlier—and it also had been in less of a state of
decomposition, so the decision was taken that that was in a state so we could
potentially attempt to tow it out.
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