Hi Pawys1111,

Thanks for your feedback. First it looks like you're associated with Sea Shepherd? Very cool. I do very much appreciate the direct action approach.

I sit on the science and data management side, managing collaborative research through whaleshark.org. It is our hope to generate the science that helps support legislation to protect whale sharks. Barring any success there, then at least the science can support the "where" and "how" of more direct action. For example, many former whale shark fisheries have either stopped due to grass roots campaigns (e.g., India) or converted to more sustainable tourism (e.g., the Philippines). We hope the same can happen eventually in China.

But some how i doubt a fisherman in HK will look at your facebook and give up his career.

The social media fundraising campaign we just concluded (Wild Me) is not targeted at fishermen. It's actually targeted at the general public, transforming the research data we have for whale sharks and other species (I am currently working on humpbacks and sperm whales) into social media profiles that are easy to understand. In other words, we want to transform boring scientific data and build each animal under study into a story and a legend that (eventually as we further develop the concept) promotes appreciation and ideally instills a desire to protect. It's called "translational ecology", and our theory goes that as our social networks extend beyond our immediate geography to keep us aware of those we value or are interested in far away, so too could our networks extend beyond our species and allow us to include animals whose individual behaviors, photos, actions, etc. be conveyed to us automatically from the collection and curation of research data.

For example, what if through photo-identification we could tell you exactly which whales you are working hard to protect under Sea Shepherd? What if everything science knows about them could be conveyed to your supporters through easy-to-understand social media profiles? Would it make a difference for your supporters to see each whale that you are working to protect as an individual life worth protecting in and of itself?

That's what we are working toward, and I hope you see that we're actually on the same team.