Arthur_Foyt
I assume it’s back to using high speed surface boats with outboard motors to film them?
1 reply
I assume it’s back to using high speed surface boats with outboard motors to film them?
1 reply
You can’t fly a drone within 1,000 ft of a whale, yet you can fly an airplane as close as 500 ft from a human. How backward is this?
2 replies
That w3as also my thought as I read the article. I wondered if there was a law saying you can’t boat within x feet of the whales. So there you are, 1000 ft away by law and another damn whale surfaces next to your boat…“But officer, I didn’r see it till it was too late”.
Honestly, a strange law since a drone would seem to be less intrusive then a boat. Ah well, the fickle ways of society.
2 replies
Speed restriction is max 7 knots within 1000 meters and not closer than 200 meters to killer whales (400 meters to resident southern killer whales) and 100 meters to other whales except 200 meters if a whale with a calf.
It seems like an easy way to make $30,000 off the hard work of the whales.
The rampant stupidity of this event is:
a) the whales migrate. In Socialist California where they control everything that people do, there are whale watching boats that fill with people eager to see the migrating whales – with no restrictions on distance;
b) the “authority” that pressed this fine profits directly from the fine, and uses the money to pay staff bonuses, a corrupt practice that profits the individuals who assess the penalty.
Seriously? Well, Danny, when humans become endangered I’m sure we’ll consider this. Think it through: what, or who, endangers the whales?
Probably goes more to the company kept it up after the permits were refused. Brweak the law, pay the man.
Ah yes! One more evil government conspiracy!
With over 8 billion humans clogging the planet, we are definitely not an endangered species. Seriously though, I wonder how close the drone(s) got to the whales in order to elicit the fines. I’m not very good at estimating how much is 1,000 feet when approaching a moving object like a whale. Wildlife groups and companies like National Geographic use underwater drones all the time to observe orcas and other large marine mammals and their pictures are definitely closer than 1,000 feet away. I guess they just don’t do it in Canadian waters.
Thanks, BobD … I wasn’t aware of that.
I did a little research and SeaWorld.org says that the killer whale is not endangered except in the “southern resident community in the eastern North Pacific”. That’s the exact area of which you speak.
It would be helpful if the article clarified the currency of the fine. AVweb is a largely US publication, albeit with some valued Canadian staff, and I suspect that the readership is largely US-based. Anytime a dollar sign is used, and it does not represent US dollars, it would help to make the currency explicit. It might also help to provide the amount in US dollars, for international reference.
Given that the $30,000 amount matches the numbers in a Canadian government press release from 19 August 2024, I suspect that the currency in this article is Canadian dollars. Thus, the fine is C$30,000 ($22,200).
It’s not only a Canadian regulation—U.S. regulations also play a significant role in protecting whales from drone disturbances. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), drone operators are prohibited from “harassing” marine mammals, which includes any activity that disrupts their natural behaviors. NOAA recommends keeping a distance of at least 1,000 feet from whales when flying drones to minimize disturbance. Additionally, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) enforces penalties for any actions, including drone use, that could harm endangered whales. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also collaborates with agencies like NOAA to ensure that drone operations do not interfere with protected wildlife. These regulations, alongside regional and local rules, are crucial in safeguarding whale populations from the potential negative impacts of drone activities.
1 reply
Most vessels 65 feet or longer must travel at 10 knots or less in certain locations (called Seasonal Management Areas) at certain times of the year. This mandatory regulation reduces the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries to endangered North Atlantic right whales that result from collisions with vessels. The USCG oversees and enforces this maritime regulation.
Mariners and Citizens are reminded that the following activities are prohibited and unlawful:
U.S. Coast Guard District 14 partners with National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) to enforce the following:
A vessel, individual, or drone approaching within 100 yards of any humpback whale.
Operating an aircraft within 1,000 feet of any humpback whale, except as necessary for takeoff or landing from an airport or runway.
Harassing, hunting, capturing, or killing, or any attempt to do any of these actions, of any humpback whale in the sanctuary.
The last whale hunting in the pacific northwest was in 1957 if I remember correctly based out of Coal Harbour in Quatsino Sound near the N.W, corner of Vancouver Island. The pendulum has now swung far to the other side it seems. There are folks who still maintain that hunting whales is reasonable–is it?
1 reply
Whales are curious. Many moons ago we took friends out to Hansen island in Johnstone Strait across from Robson Bight. 4 Orcas surfaced about 75 feet from our boat and “spyhopped” several times as we were awed and waved to them. I am sure they were more than aware of our presence and that we were a different species but social and curious as well. They shouldn’t be locked up in prisons, (Seaworld etc.) but left to travel as they need to. The resident northern eat “Spring salmon” (Kings to other folks) and are good neighbours showing off their offsring to us when we go whalewatching. Go figure.
“There are folks who still maintain that hunting whales is reasonable–is it?”
In short, NO! Historically, several countries were heavily involved in whaling, causing whale populations to plummet. In the mid-1800s, the U.S. led the way, focusing on sperm whales. Norway took over in the early 1900s with new technology, and Japan ramped up its efforts after WWII, even continuing after a 1986 ban. The Soviet Union secretly hunted tens of thousands of whales from the 1950s to 1970s, and Iceland resumed whaling in the 1980s despite global opposition. These actions eventually led to worldwide efforts to regulate and reduce whaling.
1 reply
IT’s still a bit of an uphill battle as different groups think it’s reasonable for historic reasons as well as gastronomic. I concur and hope it ends soon. These are very intelligent mammals (our group) with societies, structure and communication. My neighbour Bill Terbrugge invented the orcaphone which is an underwater microphone that the whale researchers use today and have put together a library of chirps, clicks, squeals and songs. Some folks think this may be a progenitor to primitive language. If we’re lucky we may find out one day. I think the whales mostly are curious about us being around in small boats and don’t mind interacting as long as there is no obvious threat to them or their families.
300 feet. aka 100 yard and it is a federal law.