Bells Beach temporarily closed due to whale carcass washing up

Sun 21 Jun 2026 at 4:58pm

Sun 21 Jun 2026 at 4:58pm

Victoria's world-famous Bells Beach has been temporarily closed after a whale carcass washed on to shore earlier today.

VicEmergency issued an alert about 2pm, warning beachgoers of a potential increase in shark activity at both Bells Beach and Winkipop.

"A whale carcass can attract sharks to the area and mean they are closer to the shore than normal," the alert read.

"While it is not uncommon for sharks to be present off the Victorian coast, you should exercise additional caution in the area."

At about 3:30pm, the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority said the beach was temporarily closed due to the whale carcass washing up.

"Tides should drag it back out to sea, but we will continue to monitor," the authority posted on social media.

A local surfer said the whale appeared to be showing large bite marks, and later today looked like it had separated into two sections.

"The smell as soon as it hit the beach was potent," the surfer said.

"Hopefully it won't turn into Ocean Grove 2.0."

In September 2024, a 16-tonne fin whale washed up on 13th Beach, on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula, and was not removed until October 3, becoming a hot topic in the local community.

The Victorian Fisheries Authority will continue to monitor the Bells Beach area for shark sightings.