Stench grows as whale remains on WA beach

"High" tide is taking on a whole new meaning on a Perth beach where efforts continue to remove a stinking, 30-tonne beached whale carcass.

And two other beaches remain closed after several sharks were spotted about 15m away from the remains.

The 17-metre humpback whale washed up on Scarborough beach on Sunday evening and is being removed by the City of Stirling using heavy earthmoving equipment, a rigger and cranes.

It was hoped that the whale would be removed in one piece about 3pm on Tuesday and specialist equipment would also be needed to transport the carcass to landfill.

A temporary fence was erected around the whale overnight and it was kept "under guard" by security, a council spokeswoman said.

But the stench after two days is growing despite attempts to "dampen" it with a tarp.

A 26-year-old man known only as Harrison made international headlines after he swam from his friend's boat to sit on the back of the humpback carcass on Saturday afternoon.

He later admitted his actions were stupid, considering the rotting whale had attracted at least one large shark.

"Mum thinks I'm an idiot. Dad's not too proud, either," he told Seven News.