Sharkwater

The barbaric practices of the shark-finning industry are criticised in this award-winning film that combines hidden-camera footage of the atrocious treatment of sharks with glorious underwater footage of the predators from first time documentarian Rob Stewart.

Biologically speaking, there's nothing new here.  The intro offers a rudimentary desciption of sharks not uncommon with your basic Discovery channel doc, but the focus is on the degredation of shark populations and its effect on aquatic eco-systems.  Specifically, shark fishing is targeted here, and Stewart teams up with a Greenpeace-like organization that motors around the world's oceans, making life difficult for fishermen with lees than moral scruples.

The term, "in-depth" isn't quite correct here, because only the surface of the fin industry is scratched.  Strewart was able to sneak a camera into a Costa Rican shark fin "holding area," and there is ample footage of the act itself out on the water.  But how, exactly the fins get from waterfront warehouses to restaurants around the world is still unknown, despite being illegal in 16 countries.

But there is brutality aplenty, as we see the bodies of finless, tail-less sharks being dumped back into the ocean, still alive, to die probably of suffocation before they are picked apart by every little nibbler in the sea.  Stuff like this, simply put, defines "cruelty."

But this yin certainly has a yang, for Sharkwater isn't just a bloody orgy of shark-fucking.  No, there is some majestic underwater footage of sharks doing what they do best, showing that Stewart has a very keen eye when looking through a viewfinder.  Coupled with the fact that it is underwater, free swimming with sharks, even the most established of DP's must appreciate the fruits of this labor.

This is a film that can be appreciated even if you're not a shark freak like me.  Anyone who can appreciate a good doc will love this film.  ANd it wouldn't hurt a non-shark freak to get a little education about the ocean's top predator.  When seals hunt for fish, they are just as predatory and  implement similar tactics as sharks, yet they are protected.  Herman Mellville depicted the sperm whale as a monster, but with a little observation and understanding, it became clear that whales are hardly dangerous (to humans) so they are protected.  What Sharkwater suggests is the same thing for sharks.  A little bit of observation, education and undestanding may lead humans to believe that "just because they're scary" is not reason enough to slaughter sharks to the brink of extinction.