An astonishing sight off the west coast of Vancouver Island was captured on camera and it all started when a whale was spotted surfacing in Barkley Sound.
THE humpback whaleaccompanied by a few sea lions, set off in pursuit of a bait ballwhich is a swarm of small fish that swim together to protect themselves from predators.
Cinematographer Peter Mieras was testing his camera underwater when it fell to the bottom of the sound.
By pure chance, when he got the camera back, he discovered that he had captured amazing images of the humpback whale feeding on the bait ball.
“You can’t plan for this, it’s just a fluke,” Mieras told Global News.
He’s filmed all over the world, but captured what might be his best work right next to his dock in Barkley Sound – by accident.
“I was doing some tests and recording and the camera was underwater,” he said. “So I was bringing the camera up to the surface and when it reached the surface the whole weight of the rig broke the line on the fishing rod. Then my camera fell.
Mieras was ready to prepare to dive for it when the action started.
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“And that’s when I thought, ‘Oh, if my camera still worked, that would be amazing,'” he said.
Mieras said the response to his video has been overwhelming, with several media outlets expressing interest in using the video for educational or documentary purposes.
“There was this eureka moment when I saw the humpback whale pass through the footage and feed on the bait ball,” he said.
“It was like, ‘Oh my lord, these are just brilliant images’.”
Jackie Hildering, a biology professor, cold-water diver, underwater photographer and humpback whale researcher, told Global News the whale is named Oreo, after the “O”-shaped spot on the ‘one of its moats.
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