Dead humpback whale removed from Sunshine Coast beach

A dead juvenile humpback whale that washed up on a popular Sunshine Coast beach has been removed by authorities. The 6.7-metre animal was found on the sand between Alexandra Headland and Maroochydore late on Tuesday afternoon.

An exclusion zone was set up around the whale overnight, and a team in hazmat suits worked to remove the carcass at high tide, around 5:30am on Wednesday. Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the high tide was crucial for the operation, allowing the whale to be towed out to sea safely and carefully.

"We did need to wait for the high tide to be able to tow it and do that carefully — also before the animal begins to decompose," she said.

The removal process involved a team on the beach shooting a flare with a tow rope to a boat waiting about 100 metres offshore. The boat then connected the rope to its hull, and the people onshore tied the other end of the rope around the whale's tail.

The whale will be towed 20 nautical miles, or 37 kilometres, out to sea. Cr Natoli said the whale displayed no obvious cause of death, and samples have been taken to determine the cause.

"Samples have been taken to try to work out the cause of death and what has happened to this whale," she said.

"This is a majestic animal. It's very sad when you see this kind of situation."

"It is school holidays so we want to make sure the area is safe for everyone."

Xavier Agius, 13, was among those who gathered to watch the removal operation. He described the experience as both sad and interesting.

"It stinks. That's a smell you don't want to smell," he said.

"I just felt sad because it's not supposed to be there. "

"It's sad seeing ocean creatures not where they belong."

"It's pretty cool to take a photo and experience that, but I don't want to really see that happen ever again," he said.

The beach was closed during the removal operation, with no surfers in the water at the usually popular surf beach on Wednesday morning.