Commercial or Educational Photography Permit

This permit allows you to approach marine mammals to obtain images or video for a discreet project.  Examples include documentary films, television series, and books.  This permit can cover filming activities from vessels, underwater, on land, from airplanes, helicopters, or unmanned aircraft systems, and from other remote devices. This permit only applies to marine mammals under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction:  whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions.

To be eligible for this type of permit:

• Your project must have a specific purpose, a defined timeline, and a way that it will be made publicly available.
• The marine mammals you wish to film or photograph cannot be listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
• Your activities cannot exceed Level B harassment. This means that you cannot do anything that touches the animal or may injure them.
• Personnel must have experience with wildlife photography.

This permit is not for:

• Filming or photographing endangered and threatened marine mammals.  Examples of ineligible species include North Atlantic right whales, blue whales, Southern Resident stock of killer whales, and Hawaiian monk seals.
• Filming or photographing marine mammals under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:  sea otters, polar bears, walruses, and manatees.
• Filming or photographing other protected species like sea turtles, sturgeon, or sawfish.
• Conducting scientific research.
• Filming activities that may cause Level A harassment. This would include attaching animal-borne cameras or other activities that may involve physically touching animals.  Activities that cause pinnipeds to stampede into the water may also result in Level A harassment.

If the marine mammals you wish to film are listed as threatened or endangered, you cannot apply for this type of permit. However, you have several options for obtaining images or video of ESA-listed species:

1. Use footage or images that already exist.
2. Film in locations outside the Marine Mammal Protection Act’s jurisdiction.  If you are a U.S. citizen, that means working in the territorial waters or lands of a foreign country.  If you are not a U.S. citizen, that means working outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.  Keep in mind that you may have to obtain permits from the foreign country where you choose to work.
3. Collaborate with a permitted scientist.  We permit many researchers who study ESA-listed marine mammals.  If they are willing to partner with you, we can issue them a Filming Authorization letter, which will allow your crew to film while the scientists conduct their research.  The authorization process is relatively quick and simple.  Your activities as a photographer cannot alter their field activities.  
4. Follow NOAA Fisheries’ marine mammal viewing guidelines and approach regulations.  These guidelines and regulations, which vary by species and location, list distances where you can safely observe marine mammals without disturbing them.  If you choose to remain a safe distance from the animals following these guidelines, you can film or photograph them without needing a permit.  With today’s advanced camera systems, this is a viable option for some filmmakers.

Contact our office at (301) 427-8401 or nmfs.pr1.apps@noaa.gov if you wish to discuss these options.

Please note: some species, such as humpback whales, have a complicated ESA status. Humpback whales in some parts of the world are listed as endangered.  In other parts of the world, humpback whales are listed as threatened and in still other places humpbacks are not listed.  This means that depending on where you plan to film, you may or may not be able to get a commercial or educational photography permit to film humpback whales.

Be sure to check on a species’ status before applying for a permit.

A commercial or educational photography permit can be issued for a maximum of 5 years, but is often issued for shorter periods of time due to project timelines and production schedules.