A Vancouver-based film company and its drone operator were fined $30,000 for unlawfully flying a drone too close to endangered killer whales in 2021.
I assume it’s back to using high speed surface boats with outboard motors to film them?
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?
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.
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.
Seems like a pretty stupid law when boats and low flying planes clearly create much more noise and disturbance.
I have a 250 gram drone that is inaudible at 30 ft and almost invisible at 100ft. I really don’t think a whale would notice it.
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.
Those are non-endangered gray whales, not the endangered southern resident killer whales of the Pacific Northwest.
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.
Shave the Whales
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.
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.