Sharkwater is a tremendously moving portrait of a misunderstood animal and should serve as a clarion call to humanity who has long ignored the plight of the shark either out of ignorance or fear.
Soda pop machines kill more people each year than sharks do. That’s one of the tidbits of information scattered throughout Rob Stewart’s impassioned documentary, Sharkwater. Stewart may not have set out to make An Inconvenient Truth about sharks but that’s essentially what the movie is.
Through the use of some stunning high-definition photography, stock footage, and personal narration, Stewart documents man’s misguided and misinformed crusade to rid the world of sharks. Sharks are shown as “the enemy of man” in an old U.S. Air Force training film. Self-proclaimed shark hunter, Vic Hislop, boasts of the lives he’s saved by killing great white sharks. Stewart then presents information that includes facts like “elephants kill more people than sharks do every year” and we’re left to wonder why no one’s out hunting elephants to protect humanity.
Stewart also brings the practice of longline fishing to light. Fisherman string 60 mile long lines equipped with baited-hooks behind their boats, indiscriminately killing any fish or animal that is curious enough to attempt to take the bait and get hooked. According to Stewart and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society founder Paul Watson, these lines kill millions of sharks each year as well as seals, turtles, and non-game fish. Their impact is devastating to the shark population but, because it’s a relatively cheap way to fish and shark fins are so valuable, the practice continues even in areas where it’s been made illegal.
Stewart and Watson travel to Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands to attempt to stop illegal fishing. In more than one instance, they find themselves up against corruption and the criminals that profit from the slaughter of sharks. We learn that the Taiwanese mafia has an interest in keeping the illegal fishing in Costa Rica running strong. We’re shown the illegal shark fin processing plants that operate on the docks. We also are shown the still-struggling bodies of sharks being dumped into the ocean after having their fins hacked off by fishermen, who smile as they toy with their dying catch.
The effectiveness is slightly diminished when Stewart’s personal story, including a bout with flesh-eating bacteria, derails the movie for a short time.
Despite its minor flaws, Sharkwater is a tremendously moving portrait of a misunderstood animal and should serve as a clarion call to humanity who has long ignored the plight of the shark either out of ignorance or fear.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Buy on Amazon!
