The opportunity to film an orca that “dragged belly” along the Mount Maunganui shoreline this month was a “once in a lifetime” opportunity but the rare moment could result in an official warning and fine from the Department of Conservation.

Jahl Marshall is director of Media Masters and specialises in real estate photography and videography, but he was shooting a friend’s hydrofoiling dinghy on a recent Friday when an orca swam through his shot.

Standing by the shoreline operating a drone, he redirected his lens.

“It’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get that footage.

“I’m just feeling grateful to get it and to live in a place as beautiful as we do.”

His Facebook reel last weekend had more than 371k views and more than 1400 shares.

On Instagram, it was shared more than 1700 times and had 72,000 views.

“We’ve had so much response from the video, we never expected it to basically go viral,” Marshall said.

“To come so close to shore when the sea is so clear and interact with people on the shoreline was pretty magic,” Marshall said.

Marshall, who has more than eight years’ experience flying drones, said he made sure to keep far away from the mammal.

“I do respect whales and I do care about their wellbeing.

“I wouldn’t want to act in a way that said otherwise and I think the video proves it,” he said.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, “a remotely piloted aircraft requires an observer in attendance while the aircraft is in flight”.

Marshall said he had a drone-spotter, Scott Meadows, observing the shoot. His skipper Rob McAllister was the first to notice the orca.

“What the hell is that?” Marshall heard McAllister say.

“Is that a huge shark in the water?

“There was a bit of a fuss going on and then we realised there was a huge whale right on the shoreline.”

A female orca was with a calf and bull when she swam close to Mount Maunganui shoreline. Photo / Media Masters

Although he was unaware of the Department of Conservation rule about keeping 150m from the orca when he collected the footage, Marshall said the closest he got to the mammal was about 30m.

“I did initially fly quite close with all the excitement and then backed off and got on the zoom lens.

“I’d say for 80% of that flight, I’m quite a bit further away than it appears,” he said.

A majestic visitor

Marshall said at one point the orca was swimming towards a group of people.

“As the orca gets close to the people, I think she’s starting to drag belly and that’s why, I think the people didn’t really race off.”

The orca also approached Mount resident Jacob Kelly who was paddle boarding near Moturiki Island.

Kelly said: “I didn’t go out there to interact with them, I actually went out to go for a paddle around Moturiki Island and within 5m of being offshore a mum and a calf just beelined towards me and I freaked out.

Orca filmed close to Mount Maunganui shoreline. Tauranga media company says orca sighting was 'once in a lifetime' footage. Photo / Media Masters

“That was the start of about 20 to 25 minutes of interaction with them - the drone stuff was just the last kind of five minutes.

“It scared me so much, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Kelly said.

One week on he was still “buzzing” from the experience.

“It was quite insane. I turned south and paddled to Mussel Rock and around Mussel Rock, they just followed me and I could hear them behind me coming up for breaths.

“That was the start of it, what you saw in the footage was the last five minutes of it really.

“This was in chest-high water and it came right up, turned on its side and it’s eyeballing me in the water.

“I could have touched it with my paddle, obviously I didn’t, but it was just magical.

”It wasn’t aggressive, it was just curious.

“You saw it come in with the surf school kids, man, they were buzzing because that was only a couple of metres away from them.”

Kristine Theiss, Department of Conservation operations manager in the Tauranga District, said it was common for orca to be seen in Mt Maunganui and the wider Tauranga harbour area.

“Orca are regularly seen close to shore where they are seeking rays to feed on. It is unlikely these animals will be at great risk of stranding, but mistakes can happen,” she said.

Orca filmed close to Mount Maunganui shoreline. Tauranga media company says orca sighting was 'once in a lifetime' footage. Photo / Media Masters

DoC says give orcas space in water

In a statement to the Bay of Plenty Times DoC said it administered specific regulations around drone use regarding marine mammals.

“It is an offence to harass or disturb marine mammals under the Marine Mammals Protection Regulations 1992, and the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978.

“Flying drones around marine mammals can be highly disturbing, and we can’t always see the signs of their distress,” Theiss said.

“To avoid disturbing or harassing marine mammals, drones must fly no closer than 150m horizontally from a point directly above the animal.”

Marshall said he was told by a DoC officer he may be fined or officially warned, but would not be prosecuted this time.

“Although I wasn’t aware of the 150m rule, I still made sure I was a respectful distance from the orca,” Marshall said.

He used a DJI Mavic III Pro drone with a 7x zoom lens for his work.

DoC advised people to always give orcas space in the water.

Whales could be dangerous, especially when stressed and stuck, so treat them with extreme caution, Theiss said.

“For your safety and theirs. If an orca appears to be stranded or in distress call DoC on 0800 DOCHOT (0800 362 468) or Project Jonah 0800 4 WHALE (0800 4 94253).

Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.