From left, Harpswell harbor master and state Department of Marine Resources boats tow a rotting humpback whale carcass toward Garrison Cove Landing in Harpswell on Wednesday, June 26. It was the second dead whale found in Maine this month after another humpback was discovered off the coast of Cape Elizabeth in early June. (Brendan Nordstrom photo)
Many onlookers gathered along the Cribstone Bridge’s railing just after 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, with binoculars and phone cameras at hand. Passing cars slowed down or even stopped to catch a glimpse of the commotion along the bridge’s east side.
Harpswell Harbor Master Paul Plummer, along with a team of helpers, was removing the remains of a whale carcass that had washed onto the ledges of Will’s Gut between Orr’s and Bailey islands in Harpswell two days prior.
“We have the iconic Cribstone Bridge here. It brings a lot of people to town, and there’s a restaurant nearby,” Plummer said. “It would be irresponsible to leave that (carcass) and just let the smell take over.”
The team’s two boats successfully tied ropes to the carcass and dragged it under the bridge and onto the Garrison Cove Landing. From there, it was lifted into a dump truck and taken to a farm in Litchfield to be composted.
From left, Research Assistant Mia Heyer-Fogelberg and President and Director Nan Hauser of the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation analyze the whale carcass at Garrison Cove Landing in Harpswell on Wednesday, June 26. Hauser identified the whale as a sub-adult humpback. (Brendan Nordstrom photo)
Lynda Doughty, executive director of Marine Mammals of Maine, said the U.S. Coast Guard first reported the whale carcass to the group’s hotline on June 11, when it was floating 15 miles southwest of Monhegan Island. Three or four days before the removal, Doughty was once again notified of the whale near Bailey Island.
Plummer first received a call to action on Monday, June 24, when a resident reported it stuck in Will’s Gut between Orr’s and Bailey islands. He then called Marine Mammals of Maine and the Maine Department of Marine Resources, which put the town in contact with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
NOAA told town officials it was their decision whether or not to remove the whale, which the town ultimately decided was the best option due to the smell of the rotting carcass and its potential to attract sharks.
The removal cost the town an estimated $1,500.
“As much as it’s a lot of work coming together and everyone working together, now the animal’s in a good resting spot,” Doughty said, adding that people in the area also will be spared from months of decomposition smells.
An excavator picks up a whale carcass to put into a dump truck at Garrison Cove Landing in Harpswell on Wednesday, June 26. The whale was transported to a farm in Litchfield where it would be composted. (Brendan Nordstrom photo)
Nan Hauser is president and director of the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation, which has an office in Brunswick. Hauser identified the whale as a sub-adult humpback and noted shark bites on the carcass. She said the whale had been dead for a “very long time.”
“It takes a long time for it to disintegrate this badly, where you pick it up and the vertebrae just fall out,” Hauser said.
The cause of death is unknown, since the carcass was too far decomposed, Doughty said.
It was the second dead whale found in Maine waters this month, after a humpback whale tangled in nets was discovered floating off the coast of Cape Elizabeth and towed to Portland on June 6.
It is far from a common occurrence in Harpswell, however. Plummer said it was the first whale encounter he has had since coming to the town seven years ago.
“Every year we deal with some sort of seal issue,” Plummer said. “As far as whales go, this is pretty unique.”
