A video showing a humpback whale colliding with an inflatable tour boat off the coast of Nova Scotia is making waves online, just a few months after the introduction of new federal rules limiting the distance between vessels and marine mammals.
David Mulder, a passenger on the Zodiac inflatable whale watching boat, posted the video from Sept. 2 showing the whale's tail suddenly rising from the water and then slamming down onto the bow of the small boat.
The eight-passenger Zodiac, captained by Guy Melville, is the smallest tour boat in the fleet at Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises.
In July, the federal Fisheries Department implemented new regulations that require people and vessels to maintain a minimum distance of 100 metres from most whales, dolphins and porpoises to protect them from human disturbances.
A distance of 200 meters is required when approaching killer whales in B.C. and the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga in Quebec.
– The Canadian Press
