An Auckland man has been slapped with a $600 fine after performing a "body slam" next to an orca from a boat.
In February this year, a video was shared to Instagram, showing a man off the coast of Devonport jumping from a pleasure boat into the sea, right next to an orca.
The Department of Conversation (DOC) said the video showed what "appears to be a deliberate effort to touch or 'body slam' the orca".
In the video, the man can be heard saying "I touched it", with those in the boat asking, "did you get it?" While laughing and cheering the man on.
DOC said that it and the harbour master had received multiple calls about how close people were getting to marine mammals, and were tipped off about the video by a member of the public.
“The video left us genuinely stunned,” DOC Principal Investigation Officer Hayden Loper said.
Loper said the 50-year-old Auckland man showed "reckless disregard" for his own safety and that of the male orca with a calf near the boat.
"As well as the initial attempt to dive into the animal, the man stays in the water and then swims toward it again in a second attempt to touch it.
“This is stupid behaviour and demonstrates a shocking disregard for the welfare of the orca. It is extremely irresponsible," Loper said.
“Orca are immensely powerful animals, and this really could have ended horribly – with either the startled whale being injured or the man responsible being harmed by the aggravated animal."
It is against the law to swim with, disturb or harass any marine mammal, and the man was hit with a $600 fine.
Loper urged anyone out or in the water to avoid swimming with any marine mammals, especially orcas.
"There have been incidents in which wild orca have been perceived to have attacked humans – including recent incidents off the coast of Spain, where orca have sunk several small vessels - and any sudden moves near orca significantly risk the chance of people being harmed."
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