A newborn whale calf found washed up on a Sunshine Coast beach this morning has been put down, authorities say.

Sea World vet David Blyde said the whale was in a poor physical state and would not have survived if put back into the ocean.

A rescue effort began when the whale washed ashore at Warana Beach about 6:00am, while Sea World experts tried to reunite the calf with its mother.

Earlier this morning, Sea World marine sciences director Trevor Long said the condition of the whale calf, between 2.5 metres and 3 metres in length, had been deteriorating badly.

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He said it was assessed by government department staff, along with vets from Sea World and Sea Life.

"We would think at this point in time that there is no parent animal and really the only humane thing to do at this time is to euthanase the animal," Mr Long said.

About 20 rescuers earlier this morning had dug a hole and used buckets of water to partially submerge the whale.

Two gazebos were also set up to keep it in shade.

Mr Long said he had hoped the animal would be reunited with a parent during the afternoon high tide.

But he warned the situation would be dire if that did not occur.

"It's not a responsible act to try and float the animal and hope that another animal will just pick it up," he said.

"It won't do that and it will just become shark bait."

Volunteers pass buckets of water to keep the whale wet. ( ABC News: Bruce Atkinson )

Mr Long said an increase in whale numbers had resulted in more beach strandings in recent years.