A production company will be fined $25,000 for filming killer whales too closely on a Vancouver Island beach with a drone in 2021, and will not be able to use the footage. The drone operator will be fined $5,000.
Drones, considered aircraft, can disturb marine mammals, which is against the law in Canada.
This is the first time a fine has been issued in the country for illegally using a drone to film killer whales, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said.
Last July, production company River Road Films Ltd pleaded guilty to illegally using a drone for getting too close to a pod of Northern Resident Killer Whales, a threatened species in Canada. At that time, there were only 341 individuals of the iconic black and white West Coast mammal, according to a 2022 government census.
The footage was captured near a Vancouver Island beach where the mammals frequent the beach to rub their bellies on the smooth pebbles. Scientists believe the practice helps shed dead skin, strengthen group bonds and provide a massage, Fisheries and Oceans Canada reports.
The Vancouver-based company has been making nature and wildlife documentaries for more than 30 years. According to its website, its documentaries have been broadcast by the BBC and National Geographic.
The violation of federal regulations was discovered by officers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Whale Protection Unit. Drone pilots must follow the rules set out in the Canadian Aviation Regulations and the Marine Mammal Regulations. Under the latter, it is illegal to approach marine mammals with a drone at an altitude of less than 1,000 feet (about 304 metres) and within a radius of half a nautical mile (about 926 metres).
In 2020, River Road Films Ltd and its sister company in the UK applied to Fisheries and Oceans Canada for a permit to film species listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), such as killer whales, for a documentary. The application was not approved.
They nevertheless used a drone and an underwater camera to carry out their project and were caught red-handed, the ministry said. This is the first time the film company and the drone operator have committed the offence, the ministry said.