Rob Stewart Profile

profile

Depending on who you ask, humans are responsible for remov- ing between 20 million and 100 million sharks per year from the oceans. Considered a delicacy in many parts of the world, shark fins are served at Chinese weddings and business dinners throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim. The problem with finning is two-fold. First, from a humanitarian aspect, sharks are still alive when their fins are sliced off; the animals Underwater photographer Rob Stewart and his experience filming it. are thrown back into the sea, where they’re left decided he needed to do something Despite all the awards his film to drown. Second, from a practical standpoint, about the problem of finning, so he has won, he hasn’t let it go to the demand for shark fins will soon outpace the chose to make a movie about sharks, his head. Impressively, Rob was showing the world how beautiful, grace- down-to-earth, accessible, and ability of sharks to reproduce—the number of ful and essential the animals are to the interesting. Passionate about his pups in any shark’s litter rarely exceeds oceans’ ecosystems. Never having subject and full of energy, Rob 100—and overfishing could shot a feature film before, Rob picked spoke with us at length about up a book on how to shoot movies Sharkwater. have serious effects for both and began his journey. The end result coral reef systems and the is Sharkwater, an 89-minute high-def X-Ray: What is Sharkwater entire food chain. extravaganza of a movie, which has about? already won a slew of awards, includ- Text by Willy Volk ing Best Documentary (Ft. Lauderdale Rob: Originally, I wanted to Photos courtesy of Rob International Film Festival); the Jury make a beautiful underwater Stewart / Sharkwater.com Award (Hawaii International Film film about humanity’s rela- Festival); Best of the Festival (Palm tionship with sharks. I want- Springs International Film Festival); Prix ed to show people that Planete (Antibes); and more. sharks are not the mindless Recently, X-Ray Magazine got the killers that the media portrays them as. chance to talk to Rob about Sharkwater They’re actually beautiful, shy creatures Rob Stewart 71 X-RAY MAG : 16 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED “An eye-opening profile film…visually stunning… Rob Stewart There’s lots of shark finning this movie will change the they’ve become smaller going on. It’s a multi-billion way you see our oceans.” and more efficient. They’re dollar operation. amazing animals. Another — Bonnie Laufer misunderstanding about X-Ray: Could anyone head- sharks is that they want to ing to Costa Rica see the Tribute Magazine eat humans. They don’t. In shark finning operations? Or fact, most shark attacks aren’t are they well-hidden? finning occur and for allowing attacks at all. They’re “mis- the depletion of the country’s takes.” However, newspapers Rob: You couldn’t just go resources. After all, the natural sell more if they run stories down there and see them. The resources of Costa Rica are about shark attacks splashed Taiwan Mafia is extremely well- owned by its citizens. across their pages. hidden. The shark finning oper- ations have their own private X-Ray: You’ve said that sharks X-Ray: Other than divers and bay in Puntarenas and their are “the most misunderstood conservationists, it seems own private docks. They’re animals in the world.” What is very few people are trying to down long dirt roads, and you the biggest misunderstanding protect sharks. Why do you can’t go down there. about sharks? think there are no “Save the Sharks” campaigns like there X-Ray: If they have their own Rob: Probably the biggest mis- are “Save the Whales” cam- bay and docks, doesn’t the understanding is that they’re paigns? government have to know primitive eating machines. about it? Are they just ignoring That’s not the case. They’re Rob: First of all, sharks are a rel- it? very sophisticated animals atively new fishery. People only that have survived on the started fishing for sharks in the Rob: Exactly, the Costa Rican earth for hundreds of millions late-80s. On the other hand, government is turning a blind of years. Over whales have been fished for eye to finning. But now the the course of a while, and people who avoid humans. So, I went down four and a half years. Sharkwater is vation initiative and get underwater public has learned about their evolution, have had a long to Costa Rica to film them. However, not like any movie out there. It’s not with the sharks. But I had no idea of it, and a local non-profit, they’ve evolved time to see what it didn’t work out that way. After really a documentary. It’s not really the extent of the corruption in the PRETOMA, is suing the gov- to become effect removing about four months, I realized I wasn’t a film. It’s more of a “reality journey.” area. The Taiwan Mafia has estab- ernment for let- ting sleeker. Like electronics, them from getting the underwater footage I lished a huge shark finning operation had been hoping for, because we X-Ray: Did you head to Costa Rica there. were busy outrunning pirate boats, with the intent of uncovering the being charged with attempted mur- shark finning operations, or did you X-Ray: I thought Costa der and uncovering an underground just stumble upon it? Rica was known for shark finning operation in Costa being very eco-mind- Rica. In order to protect ourselves, I Rob: I went to Costa Rica to film ed. turned the cameras on us. Although sharks off Cocos Island with Sea I wasn’t getting the shark footage, Shepard, which had been invited by Rob: Costa Rica is known all this human drama was unfolding the President of Costa Rica to help for being very eco-minded, all around me. It was a crazy experi- monitor sharks in the area. I wanted but in reality, Costa Rica’s sharks ence that covered 15 countries and to work with Sea Shepard’s conser- are just protected on paper.

72 X-RAY MAG : 16 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED profile Rob Stewart chain. So, we have to look at the next about them. I wanted to show them not most surprising thing you learned while best thing: the sea otter, an animal that to be afraid of sharks. This movie has the shooting the film? nobody thought was very important. In potential to do so much good—because the 70s, the sea otter was an endan- if sharks survive, people survive. And Rob: The most surprising thing I learned gered species. Sea otters eat sea urchins, the response from non-divers has been while shooting the film... is how hard it is and urchins eat kelp, which is a prime amazing! We’ve received thousands of to shoot a film. It’s totally different from habitat for the Pacific herring. So, when emails from people who have seen the shooting photos, because the post-pro- we nearly wiped out sea otters, there movie and said that, after seeing it, they duction work is so difficult. We’ve got was nothing there to eat sea urchins. The wanted to go see sharks and swim with over 400 hours of footage in every kind urchins ate the kelp, kelp populations them. And so far, only about 10,000 peo- of format, from high-def to 16mm. Putting dropped dramatically and the Pacific ple have actually seen the film, so we’re it all together is so difficult. If you were herring lost hoping the response is going to be similar just directing the film, I guess it would be its habitat after it opens. easier, but when you’re crafting the story and nearly on so many levels—when you’re writ- the ocean has X-Ray: ...cute? vanished. X-Ray: It opens this month in Canada, ing, directing, producing and editing the had. So, there’s been This animal right? film—you have a lot to think about. a long time for people Rob: Right, whales are cute that no one to see the dangers associ- and sharks aren’t, so there’s thought was Rob: Right. On March 23rd. X-Ray: Yes, but that’ll ated with removing them from the been no public support for a very impor- serve you well on your ocean. Since sharks are a new save-the-sharks campaign. tant in the X-Ray: When does it open in the next film. You won’t have fishery, there hasn’t been that big picture US? to start from same build-up. Now, sud- X-Ray: I watched the trailer actually scratch. denly, we’re starting to of your film and was amazed created a Rob: In the fall. understand how many by the guy who said that huge imbal- Rob: Right. sharks are being sharks are “the scourge of the ance. So X-Ray: I can’t That’s removed ocean and everyone should imagine the wait. What good. from catch one.” What would be problems was the the the result if that happened? associated with remov- oceans Rob: Never in the history of ing the and what effect this is humanity have we wiped ocean’s top going to have. Also, whales are... out such a critical animal, predator. It the top predator in the food could cre- ate a framework for declining oxygen populations, declining fish populations, and declining plankton populations, plankton being responsible for creating 70% of the Earth’s oxygen. It could be a disaster for all of humanity.

X-Ray: It seems divers are aware of how beautiful and important sharks are to the world’s ecosystems. But what about non- divers? How do we convey this important message to people who think sharks are the “scourge of the ocean”?

Rob: That’s why I made this movie. I wanted to show non-divers how beautiful and important sharks are. As long as peo- ple fear sharks, they won’t want to learn

73 X-RAY MAG : 16 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED profile Rob Stewart

Something else that surprised me was how deals with ocean issues. Another one is X-Ray: So, you need to find people who much money is being put into the shark the story of human evolution told through are young, beautiful AND smart? finning industry. I had no idea. When you Africa. It’s amazing to me that Africa is the see that the corruption extends along mul- place humans learned to stand upright Rob: Yeah, it’ll be kind of hard to cast, but tiple governments, you realize that there’s and, yet, with all the civil war, it almost I think we can do it. a lot of money at stake. Another thing that seems there’s a de-evolution going on. surprised me is how difficult it’s going to Finally, I’m also working on a reality televi- X-Ray: Good luck with that. What do you be to work against finning. It’s going to be sion show. Like any reality show, it’ll involve want to leave X-Ray’s readers with? very hard. lots of young, beautiful people, drinking, sleeping with each other and stabbing Rob: I want to remind people of the issues X-Ray: Speaking of your next film, can each other in the back. But these people at stake here. Our survival is in jeopardy. you tell us about what you’re going to be will all be on a ship sailing through the We need six Earths to provide us with the working on next? South Pacific, and they’ll stop off at vari- resources that we use every day. The earth ous islands and pick up local biologists and can not sustain us. Moreover, as we use Rob: I have several other documentary give them the tools they need to carry out more resources, the number of large pred- projects I’m working on. All of them are effective conservation issues on their home ators on our planet goes down, and that eco-minded and try to teach that “con- islands. will have terrible results down the road. We servation is cool.” I think that conserva- need to keep in mind that conservation tion should be taught in schools before X-Ray: Are the young, beautiful people on is critical to the success of our planet. The Shakespeare or geometry. The future of the boat biologists, too? ocean is not a toxic waste dump. Trees our planet depends on it. Anyway, one of are not for decoration. We need to make my projects is a feature documentary that Rob: Yes. decisions now that will affect our future. ■

74 X-RAY MAG : 16 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED