SYDNEY, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Increased great white shark activity at an Australian beach has been detected on Wednesday, following the burial of a dead humpback whale on the shore two days ago.
The carcass of the humpback whale was deemed too large to be moved elsewhere earlier in the week, and was buried late Monday night under the sand near to where it was found at Nobby's Beach in the popular tourist area of Port Macquarie in New South Wales.
A shark detector that is located near the site has tracked an additional 21 great white shark movements since the burial of the 12-metre whale, and many have criticised the decision that could have a detrimental impact on public safety.
"I definitely won't be swimming in the water - absolutely not," the senior skipper of the Port Macquarie Marine Rescue unit, Geoff Shelton,told local media on Wednesday.
Shelton joined the chorus of many locals who hit out at the decision, including one renowned local diver, Rick Anderson, world-renowned for the friendships that he has developed with sharks during his dives over the years in the local area - and he said that burying the 18-metric ton whale at the beach was a foolish decision.
"It was a cheap shortcut. I base that opinion on a lifetime of being in the water in Port Macquarie," Anderson said.
"All of our swimming beaches from Miners Beach to Town Beach naturally sweep to the north, so anything that is on the beaches or in shore of the river flow is going to keep going around and around for months to years," he added.
The whale died after being rescued from fishing ropes it was trapped in on Sunday, which left it exhausted and unable to return to the open sea to continue its migration.
