Drone Flights Over Monterey Bay Sanctuary Draw Warning

from San Francisco Chronicle

Officials at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary are reminding the public that flying drones – or even model aircraft – is strictly forbidden over the sanctuary’s sensitive coastal areas.

The reminder came after sanctuary officials received several complaints this year about drones buzzing over the sanctuary.

In one instance, two drones flying over the grounds of Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station near Pacific Grove frightened a rookery of harbor seals – many with newborn pups and others pregnant – from a resting area into the ocean, said Scott Kathey, regulatory coordinator for the sanctuary.

Two volunteer guides observed the stampeding seals and asked two men to stop flying their drones over the animals, Kathey said. “The guys just brushed the volunteers off,” he said.

Since 1992, federal regulations have required aircraft of any kind to fly above 1,000 feet over particularly sensitive coastal areas of the sanctuary, he said. Because the Federal Aviation Administration bans drones and model aircraft from flying above 400 feet anywhere, use of the unmanned craft in these zones is illegal under any circumstance, he said.

The four coastal zones where drones are banned include the stretch from Pescadero to Santa Cruz; from the mouth of the Carmel River south to Cambria (San Luis Obispo County); from Sunset State Beach (Santa Cruz County) to Marina (Monterey County); and along the main channel of Elkhorn Slough.

Violators are subject to fines for a first violation, and multiple offenses could lead to their drones’ confiscation, according to Kathey.

Banning drones from sensitive areas of the sanctuary follows a recent announcement by the National Park Service banning drones from the national parks because of noise and safety concerns.

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