Using stunning high definition underwater photography, Stewart has created a beautiful documentary full of ocean life that’s hard not to miss. He shows us beautiful fish and plant life before encountering our first shark. Stewart draws the viewer in immediately to the crisis for the shark population by stating that in just the past few decades, human pillaging has decreased the shark population by 90%.
Stewart makes clear from the start that he has chosen to film on some of the best remaining shark habits in the world, the Cocos Island, Costa Rica, and the Galapagos Islands. First, we learn about long line fishing, a technique that stretches baited fishing lines over hundreds of miles, hooking and entangling a innumerable fish and other marine life. Stewart cuts one of these lines off a boat. He is able to save one fish but several others are already dead. Though this practice is illegal in many countries, little is done to enforce the law. Stewart teams up with a gruff looking guy named Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Watson and his organization don’t mess around; they confront ocean conservation lawbreakers head on, by ramming their boats to force them into port if necessary.
The reason for the mass killing of sharks, the film claims, is almost entirely because of the demand for shark-fin soup, a Chinese delicacy that is flavored with chicken or pork stock but includes shark fin as a status symbol. Shark has also come to be sold as a treatment for cancer and other ailments, though there is no evidence that shark has any medicinal value. Stewart claims that, only trafficking drugs rivals fins for profit.”
Surprisingly, he may have a valid point. When he and Paul Watson’s group tried to stop fisherman poaching sharks off Costa Rica’s Cocos Island, Stewart and the rest of the crew were arrested, rather than the poachers. Apparently the Taiwanese Mafia is pouring vast amounts of money into Costa Rica, allowing the government to look the other way. Just a kilo of dried fin sells for about $140 U.S. It is particularly disturbing to watch as finless sharks are thrown back into the ocean to die. Sharkwater claims that over 73 million sharks die per year because of the fin trade. More shockingly, Stewart claims that 15,000 more sharks died in the time it took you to watch this film. While it should be noted that none of Stewart’s statistics are referenced, the disturbing images of maimed sharks will probably make you reconsider this animal.
While Sharkwater is a beautifully shot documentary and deserves to be seen, it is not entirely successful. Rob Stewart’s narrative style of surfer dude clichés takes away some of the seriousness of the project, as do the constant shots of the hunky Stewart in a Speedo. If it will help sell the project, I guess you have to give him points for giving it his all. However, the underwater photography makes Sharkwater worth viewing.
The DVD release is presented in matted widescreen. The video is incredibly crisp and clear. The audio is presented in English Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound stereo and French Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound stereo.
Sharkwater has a couple of special features. The “Beneath the Surface” featurette (16:07) has Rob Stewart and others involved in making the film discussing their motivations for the project and the difficulties they faced trying to complete the documentary. “Shark Defense: Naval Training Film” (11:03) could be considered a scare tactic; made in 1964, the goal of this film was to teach navy personnel how to avoid the “sea’s deadliest creature.”
Television spots and the theatrical trailer are also included.
