Special counsel Robert Mueller is a big fish in the small pond of Washington, DC at the moment, but this summer, he’ll be a great white shark.
An anonymous donor to the nonprofit Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shelled out $2,500 to name a great white shark after Mueller, the investigator probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, said AWSC co-founder and CEO Cynthia Wigren.
The donation is one of a slew of contributions that shark-related charities reeled in after the publication of anti-shark comments by President Donald Trump in an interview with an adult film star. Trump reportedly told actress Stormy Daniels that he donates to various charities, but would “never” donate to any charity that helps sharks because he “hopes all the sharks die.”
The $2,500 donation level is the highest one listed on AWSC’s donation page and whoever gives that amount gets to name a shark. In this case, the donor at first inquired about naming the shark after Trump, but then changed their mind and requested that the sea creature be christened “Mueller,” Wigren said.
A sea pilot will fly over the Atlantic Ocean this June to spot a male great white shark, then a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries will tag the predator with a location tracker. The donor will be sent a photo of the animal. And anyone with a smartphone will be able to follow Mueller the shark as he cruises around the Atlantic with an app called SharkTivity that tracks tagged sharks.
After MarketWatch’s initial story on the increase in donations, both AWSC of Chatham, Mass. and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society of Burbank, Calif., fielded even more donations, their leaders told MarketWatch. All told, AWSC has snagged more than 70 donations totaling nearly $6,000. The group’s annual budget is $800,000.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has received donations from around the world, with contributions from Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Argentina, Japan — and Russia. Donors sent in their money with messages such as, “Trump made me do it” and “Sharks trump Trump,” said spokeswoman Zorianna Kit.
“January tends to be a slower month in the nonprofit world, but the attention this has brought to sharks and our efforts to defend, conserve and protect them has made January an entirely different month for us on the donation front,” Kit said. “In one day alone, we received more than three times the amount of donations as we normally would.”