''Sharkwater'' is a 2006 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Rob Stewart. Helping to protect sharks, changing government policy, and inspiring the creation of shark conservation groups, ''Sharkwater'' is considered one of conservation's success stories, resulting in shark finning being banned in over 90 countries. In the film, Stewart documents current attitudes about

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

s, and how shark-hunting industries are driving them to

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

. ''Sharkwater'' explores the densest shark hunting populations in the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption of the shark-hunting industry in the marine reserves of

Cocos Island Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarenas ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and the Galapagos Islands,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. Stewart travels with

Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental movement, environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine c ...

and his

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

ship as they confront shark poachers in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and Costa Rica. Among the group's experiences are boat confrontations, poachers, police, corrupt court systems, and eventually murder charges. Also, Stewart states how the increasing demand for

shark-fin soup Shark fin soup is a traditional soup or stewed dish served in parts of China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients. It is commonly served at special occasions such as ...

in Asia is fuelling an illegal trade in sharks. His expedition is cut short, however, when he is diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, from which he recovers. Stewart discovers that sharks prevent the overconsumption of

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

by other fish, which moderates

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Yet sharks have gone from predator to prey, and while they have survived Earth's mass extinctions, they could be extinct within a few years. The film has received 31 international awards.

Sequel

Stewart was working on a sequel film, ''

Sharkwater Extinction ''Sharkwater Extinction'' is a 2018 Canadian documentary film directed by Rob Stewart. It premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. A sequel to his 2006 film ''Sharkwater'', the film, which Stewart was working on at the time of h ...

'', at the time of his death in January 2017. The film was completed by Team Sharkwater, and premiered at the

2018 Toronto International Film Festival The 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 6 to 16, 2018. In June 2018, the TIFF organizers announced a program to ensure that at least 20 percent of all film critics and journalists given press accreditation to ...

in September. Rob Stewart's Parents, Brian and Sandy Stewart, said " heentire team stayed with it, everybody stepped up. We have people from all over the world — cinematographers, filmmakers, really important people — offering to help finish this, and that was really heartwarming."

References

External links

* * * * * {{mojo title, sharkwater 2006 films English-language Canadian films 2006 documentary films Canadian documentary films Documentary films about animal rights Documentary films about environmental issues Documentary films about marine biology Documentary films about underwater diving Films about sharks Films directed by Rob Stewart Films scored by Jeff Rona Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Shark finning 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films