by: Care2 Team
target: Dr. Timothy Gallaudet, Acting Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere (NOAA), Commerce Department

72,890 SUPPORTERS – 75,000 GOAL

The video is tragic and heartbreaking. An enormous whale shark hoisted onto the side of a vessel by commercial fishermen in Thailand. Unfortunately, the whale wasn’t freed in time to survive. Even worse, the whale shark was reportedly seen giving birth while hanging off the side of the ship, and the baby died as well. We must do more to protect these amazing animals.

Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea, and gentle filter-feeders. Due to their slow moving, wide-ranging nature, the species is incredibly vulnerable to extinction.

Scientists understand very little about the species, but some think they are a world-wide population, not subdivided by regions. If so, that means what happens in Thailand, affects the whale sharks well-known to feed in specific areas in…