Film maker Rob Stewart died trying to change the world. He exposed the huge, illegal and brutal industry surrounding sharks. Shark finning (where the shark’s fins are removed before being dumped back in the water to die slowly) is a multi million dollar industry. Shark meat or cartilage is in a huge number of products without us realising, from canned fish to dog food and cosmetics. Rob’s activism, along with the first Sharkwater film led to 19 countries banning shark finning. Yet the practice still continues illegally.
I went to see Sharkwater Extinction with a bunch of strangers. Girls that Scuba is an online community for women who dive or would like to. It’s not only the place to get information about female dive kit and support from fellow female divers but founder Sarah Richard has created merchandise and a discount card scheme and GTS trips to world famous dive destinations. She also organised this London meet up.
I went to see Sharkwater Extinction with a bunch of strangers. Girls that Scuba is an online community for women who dive or would like to. It’s not only the place to get information about female dive kit and support from fellow female divers but founder Sarah Richard has created merchandise and a discount card scheme and GTS trips to world famous dive destinations. She also organised this London meet up.
As a scuba diver and environmentally quite aware person I was shocked and surprised that not more of the information in the film Sharkwater Extinction is public knowledge. This powerful film, and the original Sharkwater released in 2006, highlights the complex and widespread nature of the problem. Illegal fishing and bycatch (when sharks or other creatures get caught in nets meant for other fish) are the more obvious problems. But I had no idea that the amount of sea pollution means that shark meat has toxic levels of murcury, and is fed to us in various hidden forms.
I left the film feeling pretty depressed, who wouldn’t? However, chatting with other members of GTS afterwards lifted my spirits. Not only because we shared travel experiences and dive stories, but because we all care. We care about the ocean, the environment, and about ensuring the next generation have something to dive for. And we also care about equal opportunities for women in the dive industry and encouraging girls and women to get certified and discover why we all love diving.
I often feel overwhelmed by the scale of all these problems, but what can I do about it? I can’t make a film and I’m not a marine biologist. We can all make small contributions. Here is a list of what you can do from the Sharkwater website. To make sure you’re not accidentally consuming shark, avoid fish products and non-plant based cosmetics (go vegan guys!) and talk to your friends about it. Rob made amazing progress, we have to continue it.
Have you seen the film? What did you think? What can we do?
I left the film feeling pretty depressed, who wouldn’t? However, chatting with other members of GTS afterwards lifted my spirits. Not only because we shared travel experiences and dive stories, but because we all care. We care about the ocean, the environment, and about ensuring the next generation have something to dive for. And we also care about equal opportunities for women in the dive industry and encouraging girls and women to get certified and discover why we all love diving.
I often feel overwhelmed by the scale of all these problems, but what can I do about it? I can’t make a film and I’m not a marine biologist. We can all make small contributions. Here is a list of what you can do from the Sharkwater website. To make sure you’re not accidentally consuming shark, avoid fish products and non-plant based cosmetics (go vegan guys!) and talk to your friends about it. Rob made amazing progress, we have to continue it.
Have you seen the film? What did you think? What can we do?
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