![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778037430_215_5FDLO6QJEZAVZF5G4GQ5DTHOZM.jpg\")
Jet Ski slams into grey whale The watercraft approaches the whale prior to the collision. (Micaela Roughton) <\/p>\nA shocking scene unfolded off Vancouver\u2019s coast\u2014sparking outrage among bystanders and marine mammal experts alike. <\/p>\n
An investigation is underway after a watercraft operator slammed into a grey whale feeding off the coast of Vancouver this week\u2014an incident that caused shock and upset among bystanders. <\/p>\n
Social media videos show the moment a personal watercraft struck the massive cetacean as it was surfacing for air Monday evening in Burrard Inlet, near Siwash Rock. <\/p>\n
The force of the impact sent the operator flying off the vehicle and into the water. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was awful to watch, to be honest,\u201d said Rachael Taylor, who witnessed the incident. \u201cI have a lot of concern for both the whale and the person.\u201d <\/p>\n
Authorities said the personal watercraft operator was rescued by someone on a nearby sailboat, taken to shore by a search-and-rescue crew, then transported to hospital in serious but stable condition.<\/p>\n
Jet Ski slams into grey whale The watercraft approaches the whale prior to the collision. (Micaela Roughton) <\/p>\n
Andrew Aikenhead, another whale watcher, said onlookers were growing concerned in the moments leading up to the collision, as the watercraft operator zoomed around the area.<\/p>\n
Some people were \u201cwaving and yelling, calling him an idiot, telling him to slow down,\u201d Aikenhead said. <\/p>\n
After the crash, it was immediately apparent that the operator needed help, he added. <\/p>\n
\u201cI really hope he\u2019s OK,\u201d Aikenhead said. \u201cHe\u2019s sort of, you know, public enemy No. 1 in Vancouver, but I just hope that he\u2019s able to make a full recovery.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Vancouver Police Department confirmed officers have identified and spoken with the individual, as well as multiple witnesses. <\/p>\n
Const. Darren Wong noted the department has some jurisdiction over the waters of Burrard Inlet, and said investigators are looking into the possibility that the watercraft was being driven \u201ctoo fast, or recklessly.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are all things that are being considered in the investigation,\u201d Wong said. <\/p>\n
Fisheries Act offences\u2014such as disturbing a marine mammal\u2014would be investigated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which told CTV News it could not comment on the incident Tuesday except to confirm that staff are working to assess whether the whale was injured. <\/p>\n
The grey whale has been spotted close to the shoreline for more than a week, offering a rare treat for passersby\u2014but the public\u2019s fascination with the creature has also caused concern among officials, particularly as some onlookers attempt to catch a glimpse from boats and other vessels. <\/p>\n
Experts previously warned that crowding the whale carries a serious risk of \u201clive-stranding,\u201d when an animal gets caught somewhere so shallow it\u2019s unable to swim away. <\/p>\n
Approaching, feeding or otherwise interacting with whales is also forbidden under Canada\u2019s Fisheries Act. Watchers are required to remain at least 100 metres from grey whales, and a minimum of 200 metres if the whales are resting or accompanied by a calf. <\/p>\n
Those who fail to do so can face fines of up to $100,000 for a first offence. <\/p>\n
Extended: Whale spotted morning after watercraft strike Drone video captured by Peter Williams shows a grey whale swimming off the Vancouver coast the morning after a watercraft strike. <\/p>\n
Jackie Hildering of the Marine Education and Research Society said she hopes the outrage sparked by Monday\u2019s incident will help drive the message home that there is \u201czero excuse for boaters not to be educated.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLet this be a wake-up call,\u201d Hildering said. \u201cWe have to demand a culture of whale-safe boating.\u201d <\/p>\n
She noted the potential effects of the collision on the whale might not be clear right away. <\/p>\n
\u201cMuch like us being in car accidents, you don\u2019t know how the blunt-force trauma is going to manifest down the line,\u201d Hildering said. <\/p>\n
Anyone who witnesses someone disturbing a whale can report it to the DFO\u2019s Marine Mammal Incident Hotline at 1-800-465-4336. <\/p>\n
With files from CTV News Vancouver\u2019s Shannon Paterson and Isabella Zavarise <\/p>\n
Correction<\/p>\n
This is a corrected story. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A shocking scene unfolded off Vancouver\u2019s coast\u2014sparking outrage among bystanders and marine mammal experts alike. An investigation is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,83,295,47,66],"class_list":["post-650689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-disaster","tag-environment","tag-national","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}