Sharkwater: Extinction (2018). This is the late Rob Stewart’s third film. Stewart’s mission was to save the sharks and oceans before it’s too late, and exposes this multi-billion dollar industry which exists in West Africa, Spain, Panama, Costa Rico, France and even our own backyard. This film dives into the often violent underworld of the pirate fishing trade.
Rob Stewart’s passion of protecting sharks earned him some powerful enemies. Shark fining is still alive and shark fin soup is considered a symbol of status in the Chinese culture. Sharks are now also being used to make products for human consumption. These products are alive and well in Health Food stores.
Sharks have been around for 400 million years and are top predators. The entire eco-system suffers with the Shark Fin Trade. Sharks can take 7 to over 20 years to reach maturity, which means it takes their population a long time to recover.
Shark meat can be terribly unhealthy. According to a CNN report from nearly 20 years ago, the mercury levels in sharks can cause co-ordination loss, blindness, and even death. Scientists think that sharks accumulate mercury in their body because they eat many smaller fish, which in turn have mercury in their bodies. Because of this fact, shark fishermen are not interested in the body of the shark. They remove the fins and often throw the shark back into the water to die. Today, more than 90 countries have banned shark fining or the trade of shark products. Rob Stewart believed sharks were being fished to extinction.
SharkWater Extinction is coming to theatres in the fall of 2018.