HARPSWELL, Maine — The town of Harpswell has removed the carcass of a dead whale reported between Will's Gut and the Cribstone Bridge.
Harpswell Harbormaster Paul Plummer said began to operation at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The whale was removed from the ledges via boat, towed to Garrison Cove Landing, and lifted into a dump truck by a local contractor.
"It'd be irresponsible to leave [the whale] and let that smell take over the neighborhood," Plummer told NEWS CENTER Maine "You know, anytime you leave a decomposing animal you can always risk other predators. That's the last thing we want to do when there is a beach nearby."
Residents in the area told NEWS CENTER Maine on Monday that there was a "pungent smell in the air," which only worsened by Wednesday.
Officials initially said the carcass would be taken to Benson Farms in Gorham. However, Harpswell Harbormaster Paul Plummer said in an update that the carcass would instead be taken to Campbell and Son Compost in Litchfield, where it will be composted.
"This is only the second [whale] I've ever gotten," said farm owner Thomas Campbell.
The whale carcass was reported to the harbormaster's office Monday by a property owner who said it had washed up into Will's Gut between Orr's and Bailey Islands, the release said.
Marine Mammals of Maine and the Maine Department of Marine Resources were notified of the case, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) helped coordinate the removal of the carcass with the town.
Due to the decomposition of the whale, a full necropsy is not likely, according to NOAA.
"Since 2016, NOAA Fisheries has been investigating an unusual mortality event for humpback whales in the North Atlantic," NOAA told NEWS CENTER Maine in a statement. "Data from this investigation can be viewed in this interactive map."
Plummer said further questions can be directed to the harbormaster's office by emailing pplummer@town.harpswell.me.us.