A Vancouver-based film company and its drone operator have been fined a total of $30,000 for operating a drone too close to northern resident killer whales.

A statement from Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the fines follow an investigation by the department's whale protection unit.

It says River Road Films pleaded guilty in July to unlawfully capturing footage by operating too close to a pod of whales "beach rubbing" on Vancouver Island.

The department says beach rubbing is a "unique quirk" of the northern residents, which enter shallow waters near the shore, then brush against smooth pebbles in a behaviour that's thought to help scrape off dead skin and strengthen family bonds.

The fisheries department says the film company was ordered to pay $25,000 and prohibited from using or distributing the drone footage, while the operator was fined $5,000.

Ottawa's statement says it's the first time a fine has been issued in Canada for the unlawful use of a drone to capture footage of killer whales.

It says drones can disturb marine mammals, and it's illegal to fly a drone over the animals below a minimum height of about 304 metres.

The department says River Road Films and a related company in the United Kingdom had applied in 2020 for a permit to film animals with classifications under the Species at Risk Act, including killer whales, for a documentary.

The application was denied, but Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the film crew was found using drones and underwater cameras to capture footage of the northern residents at a "well-known" rubbing beach in August 2021.