Waste of the Day: Throwback Thursday: Federal Grant Saves Giant Stuffed Fish
Topline: Critics of government spending often claim there are bigger fish to fry than the issues our tax dollars support.
That was not the case in 2008, when the federal government spent $135,000 to repair the world’s largest stuffed fish in a Long Island museum.
The project cost $197,000 in 2024 dollars.
The stuffed fish was highlighted in the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer abuses.
Coburn, a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, earned the nickname "Dr. No" by stopping thousands of pork-barrel projects using the Senate rules. Projects that he couldn't stop, Coburn included in his oversight reports.
Coburn's Wastebook 2008 included 65 examples of outrageous spending worth more than $1.3 billion, including the $135,000 taxidermy expense.
Key facts: The 32-foot stuffed whale shark had been on display at Suffolk County’s Vanderbilt Museum until it was ruined by water damage, of all things. Leaky plumbing forced the museum to remove the display for 12 years and nearly throw away the shark.
The National Park Service gave taxidermist David B. Schwendeman $135,000 to repair the fish, but that wasn’t enough. Suffolk County gave Schwendeman a similar amount, Newsday reported.
The federal dollars came from the Save America’s Treasures Grants program, which has spent over $300 million on 1,300 grants since 1998.
The museum is located in the former mansion of William K. Vanderbilt II, who bought the 8-ton whale shark after it was caught off Fire Island in 1935. The fish exhibit reopened exactly 73 years later, with support from taxpayers.
Supporting quote: "I think of taxidermy as the ultimate in terms of conservation and wise use of our natural resources,” Schwendeman told Newsday. “Trying to save this, being considered one of America's treasures — probably the world's largest mounted fish, maybe the largest piece of taxidermy in the world — I felt it was worthy of saving."
Summary: The 32-foot whale shark had once belonged to one of the richest men in history. Yet somehow, taxpayers were still on the hook for $135,000 to save a fish after it got wet.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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