Michael Gravel Edmonton Writer

"Sharkwater" A Must See

This past weekend Kerry and I took in the film Sharkwater. It is a documentary about sharks and one man's passion for them. With us not living anywhere near an ocean, sharks don't enter our consciousness too often. If they do, it's usually via a sensationalized media report. That is exactly the type of press that Sharkwater sets out to dispel. It's a passionate love piece to the vastly mis/non-understood shark. The film does a great job of education and entertainment both, and one of its key messages is that sharks are squarely not the human-eating predators that they have been painted as. Like all good love stories, it has its share of tragedy and heartbreak. The film reveals that one hundred million sharks are killed by humans every year (most of them for their fins alone)¹. The annual number of people killed by sharks? Five. Per annum, more people are killed by pop machines than sharks.

There are many stunning underwater camera sequences, especially those of schools of hammerheads. The film maker's passion for his subject came through in every frame. For every gorgeously framed underwater shot, there was a gut-wrenching fin-cutting scene that made me feel ashamed to be human. Scenes of sharks getting their fins cut off while still alive and their bodies being thrown back into the ocean are disturbing and heartbreaking. The film skirts dangerously close to romanticizing its subject, but pulls back when it needs to.

Perhaps the most entertaining and compelling personality in the film is Paul Watson, the renegade Captain of the Sea Shepherd Society ship. He's a man who doesn't just talk about making a difference in this world. He does it. He captains a ship and a crew that bound around the world's oceans trying to stop things like illegal whaling and shark hunting. Watson and the filmmakers get into a whole mess of trouble in Costa Rica after they attempt to stop a boat from catching sharks illegally. Legal battles and clandestine operations ensue, and it's a truly amazing part of the story.

Sharkwater is a complex and compelling film. The overall message is one of caution and conservation. By hunting sharks (the top of the food chain) to the degree that we do, we are imperiling the entire ocean ecosystem and, ultimately, ourselves. It's a timely story and one that resonates deeply given recent increased public interest in climate change. Sharkwater is not a documentary about sharks. It's about the beauty and fragility of the ocean ecosystem. It's about our responsibilities as stewards of this planet. It's about human stupidity and short-sightedness. It's about activism and how small groups of people can make a difference. The film may be called Sharkwater, but it's really about us.

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[1] It should be said that no sources were cited for this figure.

Entry #50 · March 25, 2007 in