News and Alerts

Update 24 May at 7pm

Parks and Wildlife staff attended the site at 13:30 today with machinery to remove the carcass if practical. 

The carcass had moved approximately 500 metres north along the beach overnight and is in an area which is accessible by foot, but not by vehicle, and therefore removal is not possible at present.

The carcass has reduced in size overnight from an estimated eight (8) metres to approximately 3 to 4 metres in length and is not expected to move further north along the beach.

The decomposing whale may continue to act as an attractant to sharks.

In response, Parks and Wildlife staff have erected shark risk signs at key entry points and spoken with local campers and the pastoralist about potential shark risks.

A Regulation 44 beach closure is now in place for the CALM land comprising the Ningaloo Marine Park (terrestrial portion) adjacent Warroora Station, from the headland immediately south of the Lagoon Campsite (23°32'32.19"S, 113°43'59.71"E) to the headland immediately south of the Southern Boundary campsite (23°33'31.27"S, 113°42'57.04"E). 

The closure includes the area from the shoreline to one kilometre out to sea. This means beaches and waters in this area cannot be used by divers, surfers and swimmers. This closure does not apply to vessels.

The closure will remain in force at least until 6pm on Friday 31 May 2019, however further reviews will be conducted up until this date.

Update 20 May 2019 at 8:45am

The partial system outage for the Shark Monitoring Network, relating to the Swanbourne satellite-linked receiver has now been resolved. The Shark Monitoring Network is now fully operational.

Keep informed of the latest detections and sighting information by checking the Shark Activity Map on the SharkSmart website – www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity or the Surf Life Saving WA Twitter – twitter.com/SLSWA.

The Shark Notification System forms part of a range of shark hazard mitigation strategies in place.  See www.sharksmart.com.au for additional information.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Update on 8 May at 2:50pm

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has extended the Regulation 44 closure for the area of coast up to two kilometres north and south of Guillotine surfing spot - bounded by Mt Whaleback in the south and Willyabrup Cliffs in the north - due to the slowly decomposing whale carcass that remains at Guillotine, north of Gracetown.

The closure includes the area from the shoreline to two kilometres out to sea. This means beaches and waters in this area cannot be used by divers, surfers and swimmers. This closure does not apply to vessels.

The decomposing carcass may continue to act as an attractant to sharks

Beach closure signs remain in place.

The closure will continue for a month, until 1pm on Wednesday 5 June 2019. A further review will be conducted ahead of that time.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600

Update on 29 April at 11:20am

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has extended the Regulation 44 closure for this area, due to the slowly decomposing whale carcass that remains in this location.

This area covers the locations between the unnamed headland at the western end of Canal Rocks (33° 40.021’S and 114° 59.6’E) to the south (past Wyadup Rocks) to a point on the beach north of Mitchell Rocks (33° 41.342’S and 114° 59.581’E).

The decomposing carcass may continue to act as an attractant to sharks.

Beach closure signs remain in place.

The closure includes the area from the shoreline to one kilometre out to sea. This means beaches and waters in this area cannot be used by divers, surfers and swimmers. This closure does not apply to vessels.

The closure will remain in force at least until 6pm on Wednesday 29 May 2019, however further reviews will be conducted up until this date.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600