A Whale Watching Guide Has Been Fined $10K For Deliberately Getting Too Close To Orcas In BC
This picture was used as part of the evidence against him.
A tour guide on Vancouver Island has been fined $10,000 for deliberately getting too close to a pod of orcas.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada said that Nicklaus Templeman, the owner of Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions, knowingly got too close to the animals.
Tour guides and their vessels are not allowed to be within 200 metres of an orca in B.C. waters, according to the federal Fisheries Act.
During the incident on May 27, 2019, two tour guides reported Templeman, claiming that he was within 35 metres of the orcas and circling around them.
In a hearing at Campbell River Provincial Court, the Honourable Judge R. Lamperson found Templeman guilty of violations under both the Species At Risk and Federal Fisheries Acts. He was fined $5,000 for each violation.
The money should be used for the conservation and protection of marine mammals in the waters off B.C., the judge added.