Paekak man "whale harasser not whale rider"

[PrincessBandit]

A Paekakariki man is facing a humungous fine for his sea antics. (Admittedly, a large part of his fines is for "non-roadworthiness" of his illegally parked vehicle.) But he claims to have stood on the whale's back as it swam underneath him. For this he is likely to face a whopping fine as well, as it's illegal to swim within 50m of a whale.

I'd like to know (a) if you're in the sea and a whale swims past you, how are you supposed to judge whether you're at least 50m away from it or not,
and (b) if it's so bad for the whale to have a person close by, surely if it was feeling harassed it would swim away.

Are there big signs or something along the Kapita coast warning people not to swim with whales? It sounds to me like this guy was an opportunist who took the chance when it came, made the mistake of boasting about it now has the conservation dept marine ecologist calling him a whale harasser.

The whale should have given him a good with it's flukes. That woulda shut him up!

[Owl]

He'll be sweet if he's maori! His defence could be that he's the real "Whale Rider".

Do the authorities get to show any discretion if you’re within the 50 metre zone?

[Elysium]

And the people who blocked the main road to see a whale

[Fatt Max]

I reckon I'm the real whale rider....you should have seen this chick I got hold of in London back in '89....jeez she was a big girl, friendly though, know wot I mean!

[ynot slow]

Great to see the police have determined this crime is worse than kids murders,rape of elderly and home invasions.

FFS what harm can a guy 100kg or so do to a 5000kg mammal.

[Fatt Max]

Great to see the police have determined this crime is worse than kids murders,rape of elderly and home invasions.

FFS what harm can a guy 100kg or so do to a 5000kg mammal.

I hear you 100% there dude

Mind you, a 100kg guy on a 5000kg Essex girl, now there is damage to be had I can tell you.....fart and give us a clue luv.....

[ynot slow]

I hear you 100% there dude

Mind you, a 100kg guy on a 5000kg Essex girl, now there is damage to be had I can tell you.....fart and give us a clue luv.....

Bet ya couldn't hear the stereo when she sat on ya face.

[Fatt Max]

Bet ya couldn't hear the stereo when she sat on ya face.

Oh, I could hear it loud and clear, I had a set of monsta flaps for headphones......

[CookMySock]

FFS what harm can a guy 100kg or so do to a 5000kg mammal.

You thud your heel in its blowhole and suffocate the fucker. Bam! Dead just like that!

Steve

[Beemer]

Great to see the police have determined this crime is worse than kids murders,rape of elderly and home invasions.

FFS what harm can a guy 100kg or so do to a 5000kg mammal.

The fact is, this kind of behaviour can cause a whale to beach itself if it gets distressed. This twat had no right standing on it and the bulk of his fine is for being within 50m of the animal. Tour boat operators have to abide by the rules, so what's different about Mr O'Dickhead-Donnell?

I hope they do charge him $30,000 (which is what the fine could be) for doing what he did. Pity the whale didn't belly flop on his sorry arse and drown him!

They don't have that many whales appearing along the Kapiti Coast, unlike Kaikoura, which is why there are no signs. Common sense - and a sense of self-preservation - should have been foremost in this idiot's mind yesterday.

[Fatt Max]

You thud your heel in its blowhole and suffocate the fucker. Bam! Dead just like that!

Steve

Have you seen the size of the blow hole on an average Essex girl?

[Beemer]

Have you seen the size of the blow hole on an average Essex girl?

Probably comes from eating too much of your shepherd's pie - made from real shepherds, or so I'm told?

[Owl]

Mind you, a 100kg guy on a 5000kg Essex girl, now there is damage to be had I can tell you.....fart and give us a clue luv.....

You're sick dude! How could you possibly get close to an Essex accent?

Oops my bad. I see you had ear muffs, so as you were.

[Fatt Max]

You're sick dude! How could you possibly get close to an Essex accent?

I know, very bad eh.....mind you, it's easy to spot when an Essex girl has had an orgasm because she drops her kebab at the bus stop.....memories....

[PrincessBandit]

The fact is, this kind of behaviour can cause a whale to beach itself if it gets distressed. This twat had no right standing on it and the bulk of his fine is for being within 50m of the animal. Tour boat operators have to abide by the rules, so what's different about Mr O'Dickhead-Donnell?

I hope they do charge him $30,000 (which is what the fine could be) for doing what he did. Pity the whale didn't belly flop on his sorry arse and drown him!

They don't have that many whales appearing along the Kapiti Coast, unlike Kaikoura, which is why there are no signs. Common sense - and a sense of self-preservation - should have been foremost in this idiot's mind yesterday.

I do hear you on the beaching issue. But as for the tour boat 50m issue - well, I'd have thought there is a bit of a difference between one man and a boat loaded with people. And no, the difference is not only to do with the number of people.....rather, the potential damage a boat could inflict in the wrong circumstances. IMO people who go on these "tours" and "swim with the dophins" etc. must know the possible risks and accept them accordingly.

The biggest shame of it as far as I'm concerned is that there would be some sick dickwad out there who would be determined to deliberately injure these creatures in some way. And I'm talking about more than "standing on it's back" (which I do struggle to see how that would "damage" a whale) - I'm talking about the really sick fucks who kill birds in a wildlife park, or slaughter wild swans at a public lake, or who tie fireworks to dogs and cats tails etc. Any wild creature who is befriended by humans is, sadly, fair game for the sadistic psychopaths of our kind. History has proven that over and over.