The carcass of a beached whale has been carefully dragged from Armona to Olhão docks for disposal.
The dead whale was spotted on a beach on Armona, one of the Ria Formosa barrier islands, on August 11th and needed to be taken away as soon as possible for public hygiene reasons.
The animal was in an advanced state of decomposition, weighed 3.5 tons and over seven metres long - all of which made its removal and disposal a tricky affair.
The Captain of the Port of Olhão summoned four vessels, one from the Maritime Police, one lifeboat and two civilian boats, and a shore based Docapesca cranme and an AmbiOlhão truck.
The whale was towed from Armona between the sandbars into the Ria Formosa lagoon and southeast to the port of Olhão where it was hoisted ashore by the crane.
The six kilometre route took two hours and the Maritime Authority said "the completion of this operation prevented the beach at Armona from closing due to public health reasons, which would be very upsetting for visitors especially over this holiday August weekend.”
