Vancouver Film Company Fined $30K for Killer Whale Drone Footage

A fine has been issued for the first time in Canada for the illegal operation of a drone to record footage of killer whales. A probe carried out by fishery officers from the Fraser Coastal Detachment of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Whale Protection Unit in B.C. has led to “a hefty fine” for a film company and its drone operator for the unauthorized operation of a drone near northern resident killer whales, according to a government press release. River Road Films Ltd., pleaded guilty July 2 to unlawfully capturing drone footage of killer whale activity by operating too close to a pod at a rubbing beach on Vancouver Island, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said. The Vancouver-based film company was fined $25,000 and was prohibited from using or distributing the drone footage while drone operator Mathew Hood was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000....