Project BANGGAI RESCUE Begins Today

My understanding is that their names will be released soon, and that may then open the door to answers to those other question. Sorry I can't be more specific on that aspect of the project just yet.

 

Hi Matt thanks for fielding questions. Our club may be able to help with funding. I would need some questions answered though.
Is there going to be a public disclosure of how the funds were used?
What happens if the $25K goal is not met?
- Is the program cancelled?
- Is the money refunded?

 

If you're looking for a line item budgetary disclosure, I assume no (that same question was raised during our soft-launch last weekend). However..

The most detailed accounting of what money is going towards is found here - How Funds Are Used | The BANGGAI RESCUE Project

I should really emphasize that the main line item IS THE BOOK. A lot of people seem hung up on the "expedition"...since the expedition is not something I'm involved with, what I offer may not be the final word by any stretch. The science team is due to be disclosed soon, and with that disclosure I anticipate more information about what they intend to do.

But I should point out that the expedition is independent of Reef To Rainforest, and is organized by multiple scientists, whose research will address several of the outstanding questions we hope to cover in the book. R2R / Kickstarter is not the only funding source for the expedition (although I admit, it does again seem that way unless you did in).

Yes, Ret's embedding into the expedition is most definitely fully covered by Kickstarter funding we're seeking. If you appreciate what Ret has done to cover the aquarium industry in the last couple years (Hawaii, PNG etc...) this is another opportunity for him to do what he does best, but only if it's funded. It is not cheap to send a journalist to Indonesia to cover the human story as he's done so well in the past.

I also should draw your attention to the bottom disclaimer on the how funds are used page. For example, my fishroom build out...I realize the press release said it was "funding" that, but not really. It is not paying 100% for what I'm doing. Everything I've done to date has come out of my own pocket, and there will be multiple corporate donations that hopefully help with this new "addition". To explain one step futher, I've had 40+ empty aquariums sitting here, on hand, and my entire basement has always been dedicated to ultimately being all fishroom. However, for a myriad of reasons, things have just sat. With this project coming to the forefront, it made sense..no, it was a requirement....that I revisit Banggai Breeding firsthand and in a big way (at best I have 5 months to do my experimentation...but fish work on their own timetables, always). So I've been working like crazy (with the help of one other local reefer). I've not seen one drop of Banggai Rescue funding towards the fishroom at this time. And I am 100% OK with that. I look at the funding that hopefully comes my way as allowing me to spend the months of researching and interviewing and documenting that allows me to ultimately write the breeding-related portions of the book with a level of refined authority.

Quite frankly, Banggais have not been on my radar for quite some time...I've been quietly working with Chaetodon capistratus broodstock (waiting for my first spawns), Sparisoma automarium (have witnessed but not recorded what was a spawn), and other marine fish that are unknowns. The advent of this project thrust me into revisiting the Banggai...I had no other plans to do so, and had actually been talking with other breeders about the things I felt they ought to try. Well I guess I get to "put MY money where my mouth is here".

I can't speak on specifics with any real authority as I'm not the leader of the project. However, certainly, aspects of the project could move forward through other means (i.e. the expedition), and other aspects could be scrapped. Publishing a book isn't cheap, so if Kickstarter funding didn't come through, James would have to either seek funds through other avenues, or give up the book. But let's hope that doesn't happen - and yes, you have a choice in that matter (which I find very exciting).

Now there's an interesting question, because to date, no money has been received. Kickstarter doesn't "partially fund" projects. No one's credit cards have been charged yet, so nothing to "refund". Kickstarer is an all or nothing affair. If we do not hit our funding goal, we get $0. Here's a little more on Kickstarter to get you started - What is Kickstarter? | The BANGGAI RESCUE Project

So if the project is important to you, let's make sure it gets funded! Another little errata in the press releases - you actually can pledge as little as $1. It's just that the rewards don't start kicking in until the $10 amount. You also don't have to accept a reward, but frankly I think everyone SHOULD take the rewards at the level the pledge.

I posted this to another forum, but I'll paraphrase it here. I'm really excited about opening up an aquarium fish book project to the public in this manner. You all get a chance to get in on the ground floor. I..e get your name in the book. Get a postcard from Indonesia. Get some fantastic Karen Talbot artwork. Even (in essence) pledge to pre-order the book (and yes, there are signed copy rewards). I can't think of another time that every aquarist out there has had this type of opportunity. And yes, very much, I view the Kickstarter crowd funding as a referendum on whether this project matters to aquarists or not.

It's been most surprising to see the amount of misinformation, as well as some pretty strong criticism, being levied about this project on the basis of people doubting the voracity of it's status in the wild. It's funny though, because we've all seen the same data and facts, and the data is what warranted the US to attempt a CITES listing, as well as what drive the IUCN Red Listing as an endangered species. Vagelli's hobbyist admonishment (page 170 of his new text) explains quite clearly how we can still see a "endangered" species freely traded. It is eye opening and quite revealing.

My gut reaction is that this fish fell off our collective radars following 2007/2008...the commotion died down, and the economy was everyone's main worry. Knowing that the average hobbyist is in and out in just a couple years, it means that this news is NEW to many hobbyists too...many of whom never heard the pleas to buy only captive breed Banggais, nor are aware of the IUCN Red List status. Many scientists are not even aware of this. So it's been a surprising uphill battle in that regard. The only other thing I can say is that I wouldn't have devoted my time and resources to this project if I didn't believe in the merit of the project.