B.C. man fined for speeding through whale pod

A crab fisherman from Vancouver Island has been fined $3,500  for driving his boat at high speeds through a pod of killer whales in August 2007.

The incident was captured on home video, which shows Xi Chang Gao's boat barrelling through the pod in Boundary Passage near south Pender Island.

South Pender is located in the Strait of Georgia, between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland.

The video was later turned over to authorities who laid five charges under the Fisheries Act, against Gao, the driver of the boat.

In his defense, Gao told Vancouver Island courtroom that he was scared and that he wanted to stop his boat from turning over.

Gao, who lives in Sidney, B.C., pled guilty to disturbing marine mammals and not keeping proper logs.

There are about 300 northern and southern resident killer whales, which reside in the waters off the coast of British Columbia and Washington State. Three pods swim in the waters of southern B.C.

Southern resident killer whales are an endangered species.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward.