Rob Stewart

Role: Filmmaker, underwater photographer, shark conservationist, director
Born: 1979, Toronto, Canada
Died: January 31, 2017, Islamorada, Florida (diving accident)
First appearance: 2007 (Wetpixel coverage of Sharkwater at Boston Sea Rovers)

Biography

Rob Stewart (1979–2017) was a Canadian filmmaker, underwater photographer, and shark conservationist who dedicated his career to changing public perception of sharks and advancing ocean conservation. He grew up in Toronto and developed an early passion for the ocean, becoming a professional underwater photographer and filmmaker whose work combined stunning wildlife imagery with urgent conservation messaging. (^[1])

Stewart was a skilled freediver and rebreather diver who regularly entered the water with large shark species without cages. He dived with tiger sharks in the Bahamas alongside Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures and the Shark Angels conservation team, and freedived with whale shark aggregations at Isla Mujeres, Mexico. (^[2]) (^[3])

He was a prominent public speaker and advocate, delivering lectures at venues including the ideaCity conference (posted to YouTube in 2010), where he discussed the making of Sharkwater and his ideas about sharks and marine overfishing. (^[4]) His shark photographs were included in the International Shark Photo Exposition organized by the Protect the Sharks Foundation, alongside images from Michele and Howard Hall, Jeremy Stafford Deitsch, Chris and Monique Fallows, David Fleetham, Jeff Rotman, Paul Hilton, and Eric Cheng. (^[5])

Stewart dedicated his life to conservation, saying: “Conservation is the preservation of human life. Moreover, that, above all else is worth fighting for.” (^[6])

Filmography

Sharkwater (2007)

Stewart’s breakthrough film Sharkwater exposed the global shark fin trade, revealed the cruel and wasteful nature of the industry, and presented sharks as sentient, non-threatening creatures rather than the monsters of public imagination. The film received 40 international awards and is credited with sparking a worldwide movement to protect sharks and reverse the public’s fear-based attitudes toward them. It changed laws and public policy worldwide and created hundreds of conservation groups; today more than 90 countries have banned shark finning or the trade of shark products. (^[7]) (^[8])

The film’s New England premiere took place at the Boston Sea Rovers 53rd Clinic in March 2007, where Stewart presented to a packed seminar room. (^[9]) X-Ray Magazine issue #16 (April 2007) featured an interview with Stewart as the “Sharkwater creator.” (^[10])

The Sharkwater DVD launch party was held on April 11, 2008 at the Pink Elephant in New York City, doubling as a fundraiser for Shark Savers. The event featured Stewart and Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. (^[11])

Following Stewart’s death, Cineplex theaters across Canada showed Sharkwater for free on February 25, 2017, in exchange for a donation to WWF Canada. The film was also made available on iTunes, with proceeds going toward completing Sharkwater: Extinction. (^[12])

Revolution (2012)

Stewart’s follow-up documentary Revolution broadened his focus from sharks to global environmental collapse. As the film’s description stated, Stewart discovered “there’s more in jeopardy than sharks” and embarked on “a life-threatening adventure through 4 years and 15 countries into the greatest battle ever waged.” (^[13])

Revolution was the first feature film to platform the devastating effects of ocean acidification. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won at least 19 awards, including the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Atlantic Film Festival, the Most Popular Environmental Film Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Victoria Film Festival, and the Social Justice Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. (^[14]) (^[15]) (^[16])

The film was released in Canadian theaters in April 2013 (^[17]) and made available for online download in April 2015. (^[18])

Sharkwater: Extinction (2018, posthumous)

At the time of his death, Stewart was actively filming Sharkwater: Extinction, a sequel focused on the estimated 80 million sharks killed per year that are unaccounted for by scientists. (^[19]) The film followed Stewart as he exposed the massive illegal shark fin industry and the political corruption behind it, traveling through West Africa, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, and France to dive into the often violent underworld of the pirate fishing trade. (^[20])

After Stewart’s death, his friends and fellow conservationists banded together to complete the film. The trailer was released in August 2018, with a theatrical release date of October 5, 2018. (^[21]) The film was released digitally on iTunes in the US and Canada on February 1, 2019, and opened in select US theaters on the same date, with a red carpet premiere in Los Angeles the preceding evening. (^[22])

Conservation Advocacy

Stewart was an active participant in shark conservation campaigns beyond his filmmaking. In June 2007, he urged the public to contact government officials when CITES considered adding porbeagle and spiny dogfish sharks to its protected list, using the platform at SavingSharks.com. The proposal was ultimately defeated, with Canada, New Zealand, and the United States opposing the designations. (^[23])

In 2008, following the fatal shark bite on Jim Abernethy’s vessel M/V Shear Water in the Bahamas, Stewart became a key public voice defending shark diving and conservation. He appeared on CNN’s American Morning, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, NBC’s Today Show, and other major outlets, arguing against demonizing sharks and advocating for rational understanding of the risk. (^[24]) He stated: “It would truly be unfortunate if this incident was manipulated into another misguided attempt to present sharks as mindless killing machines at a time when shark populations are being wiped out. This is a tragic and highly unusual accident. We need to abandon our deeply-rooted fears and unite people around the truth — an enlightened view of sharks.” (^[25])

Stewart had recently joined forces with the Shark Angels — Kim McCoy (Executive Director of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society), Julie Andersen (Director of Shark Savers), and Alison Kock (Marine Biologist with Save Our Seas Foundation) — to film with tiger sharks in the Bahamas without cages for the “Shark Angels” production. (^[26])

A 2015 Wetpixel article about Costa Rica’s refusal to protect commercially fished shark species drew community comment noting that “Rob Stewart and Paul Watson did a good job raising international awareness some years back.” (^[27])

Death

On January 31, 2017, Stewart went missing during a dive near the Queen of Nassau wreck off Alligator Reef, Islamorada, Florida, while filming Sharkwater: Extinction. He had resurfaced at the end of the dive, but as the boat turned to pick him up, he went back under and was not seen again. (^[28])

Note: External media reporting indicated that his sister described it as a “particularly difficult” dive to a depth of nearly 70 metres, that he may have lost consciousness after doing a third dive that day, and that the group was diving a new rebreather system. These specific details are not contained in the Wetpixel archive sources.

An extensive search was organized, coordinating tech divers, boats, drones, beach walkers, helicopters, and planes across the Florida Keys. The community rallied with volunteers searching Marathon, Duck Key, Conch Key, and Long Key shorelines. (^[29])

After an intensive search, Stewart’s body was found by an ROV close to the wreck late on Friday afternoon, February 3, 2017. He was 37 years old. (^[30])

Adam Hanlon wrote: “Rob’s life was an inspiring example to us all of how one person’s passion can create a global movement for change. We should all take inspiration from this and undertake to try and take his message forward.” (^[31])

Legacy

Community Tribute

In February 2017, Wetpixel published a two-part “Full Frame” feature, “A Wall of Sharks,” assembling shark imagery from dozens of photographers worldwide in honor of Stewart’s memory. Simon Rogerson of Scuba Magazine originally suggested creating a “wall” of shark images on Facebook; Wetpixel expanded this into a major feature. Contributing photographers included Adam Hanlon, Alex Mustard, Abi Smigel Mullens, Eric Cheng, David Doubilet, Paul Nicklen, Stephen Frink, Ocean Ramsay, Andy Cassagrande, and many others from around the world. (^[32]) (^[33]) (^[34])

One of the tribute images showed Stewart himself filming an oceanic whitetip shark off Cat Island in the Bahamas in May 2016, taken by Vincent Canabal. (^[35])

Lush Cosmetics Partnership

Lush Cosmetics re-released their “shark fin” soap in June 2017 in honor of World Oceans Day, donating 100% of proceeds to help complete Sharkwater: Extinction. The soap contained seaweed, fine sea salt, and lime oil, and aimed to bring awareness to the over 100 million sharks killed annually. (^[36]) Lush continued its ocean-focused campaigns, later committing to use 27 tons of collected ocean plastic in its packaging in partnership with the Ocean Legacy Foundation. (^[37])

Enduring Impact

Stewart’s own words, widely quoted in the Wetpixel tributes:

“You are told your whole life since you are a kid that sharks are dangerous. You are warned about venturing too far into the ocean. But then, finally you are underwater and you see the thing you have been taught your whole life to fear and it is perfect and it doesn’t want to hurt you and it is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. And your whole world changes.”

Timeline

• 1979: Born in Toronto, Canada
• 2007-03: Presents New England premiere of Sharkwater at Boston Sea Rovers 53rd Clinic (^[38])
• 2007-04: Featured in X-Ray Magazine #16 with interview (^[39])
• 2007-06: Urges public to contact governments ahead of CITES vote on shark protections (^[40])
• 2007: Sharkwater released; receives 40 international awards; credited with launching global shark conservation movement (^[41])
• 2007-11: Shark photographs included in International Shark Photo Exposition at North Sea Film Festival, The Hague (^[42])
• 2008-02: Appears on CNN, NBC Today Show, and Anderson Cooper 360 defending shark diving after Bahamas shark bite fatality (^[43])
• 2008-02: Issues press statement with Shark Angels team about Bahamas incident (^[44])
• 2008-04: Sharkwater DVD launch party at Pink Elephant, NYC, with Captain Paul Watson; fundraiser for Shark Savers (^[45])
• 2010-09: Posts freediving video with whale sharks at Isla Mujeres, Mexico; footage for planned documentary Rise Again (^[46])
• 2010-11: ideaCity lecture posted to YouTube (^[47])
• 2012: Revolution completed; premieres at Toronto International Film Festival; wins 19 awards (^[48])
• 2013-04: Revolution released in Canadian theaters (^[49])
• 2015-04: Revolution released online for download (^[50])
• 2016-05: Filmed oceanic whitetip sharks off Cat Island, Bahamas for Sharkwater: Extinction (^[51])
• 2017-01-31: Goes missing during rebreather dive near Queen of Nassau wreck, Islamorada, FL (^[52])
• 2017-02-03: Body recovered by ROV near the wreck (^[53])
• 2017-02-08: Wetpixel calls for shark image submissions for memorial tribute (^[54])
• 2017-02-20: Wetpixel publishes two-part “A Wall of Sharks” community tribute (^[55]) (^[56])
• 2017-02-25: Sharkwater shown free at Cineplex theaters across Canada (^[57])
• 2017-06: Lush Cosmetics shark fin soap proceeds fund Sharkwater: Extinction (^[58])
• 2018-08: Sharkwater: Extinction trailer released (^[59])
• 2019-02: Sharkwater: Extinction released digitally and in US theaters (^[60])

References