Rob Stewart's Sharkwater

Sharkwater (Canada, 2006)
dir. Rob Stewart

Close to 100 million sharks a year are slaughtered in the seas each year, many of them for the consumption of their tasteless fins in soup. The myth is perpetuated worldwide of sharks as ruthless predators and killers, whereas in truth they are part of an essential balance of marine life.

Marine photographer Rob Stewart, still only 27, struggled five years through endless personal, financial, and artistic difficulties to create a remarkable documentary released last week in Canada, and September in the United States. Along the way he and his team experienced shark poachers, criminal intrigues, official corruption, and death threats, among other dangers, much of it in the waters of Cocos Island (Costa Rica) and the Galapagos (Ecuador).

From all reports the imagery of the film is extraordinary along with the message, and I want to see it soon.