Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe SYDNEY, May 2 (UPI) -- An Australian man is charged with harassing a rare humpback whale by buzzing past him with a friend's speedboat. Ned O'Neil pleaded guilty to "zig-zagging around and pursuing the whale" last July in Rose Bay, the Sydney Morning Herald said Wednesday. He was fined $12,000. Advertisement O'Neil said he was only trying to get a closer look at the whale. "My only previous experience with whales had been on a charter boat in Mexico and I think the rules were a bit different over there," he said. "I never intended to interfere with them in any way -- I understand now that those restrictions are there to protect the whales." O'Neil's father, Denis, is trying to gain support for plans to put 174 luxury boats in Rose Bay, the newspaper said.
