Humpback whale carcass spotted at mouth of Brisbane River

FISHERMEN have been confronted with a grisly sight, with a humpback whale found floating belly-up at the mouth of the Brisbane River. (Pics: Brisbane River Fishing)

FISHERMEN have been confronted with a grisly sight, with a humpback whale found floating belly-up at the mouth of the Brisbane River.

Alex Donaldson, from the Brisbane River Fishing Facebook group, said he saw the carcass floating down the river last Saturday night at 11.40.

He said the whale looked like it had been hit by a boat.

Another person, Megan Williamson, said she spotted the whale about 12.30am as she was heading out to fish.

“We thought it was something that had fallen off the port at first but (we went) up closer and saw it was a baby whale,” Ms Williamson said.

“It had a pretty horrible smell coming from it every few minutes, I’m guessing some decomposing.”

Ms Williamson said she called the Department of Fisheries, who said they were aware of the dead whale.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services confirmed that they received a report and dealt with the matter on Monday.

“The whale was a male humpback calf 4.4m long and had been dead for about five days,” a spokesman said.

“QPWS staff towed the whale carcass to Mud Island for disposal on the island on Tuesday morning,

“The cause of death is not known, as the carcass was too significantly deteriorated.”

The department also reminded skippers to watch out for humpback whales during their migration period along the Queensland coast from May to November.

QPWS said whale strandings would become more common as humpback populations increased.