Sharkwater

This is a documentary by Rob Steward, a young man who fell in love with sharks, and decided to become an underwater filmmaker, to record his favoured creatures.

It features some of the best underwater photography I have seen, brilliantly clear and colourful, enough to make anyone fall in love with these misunderstood creatures.

It came as a surprise to me, that the fearful sharks only manage to kill around 5 people a year, compared with around 500 who are killed by loveable elephants.

The shark population, like all the creatures in our oceans, are under severe threat, as they are being harvested for their fins, sought after for soup as a sign of wealth, and for their (non-existent) medicinal properties.

The oceans are being emptied and to try and help stop it Rob joins the direct action group the Sea Shepard Conservation Society, as they go to tackle the problem of illegal fishing in Costa Rica and the Galapogas Islands.

The film then turns into something of an adventure story as the crew are arrested and threatened with imprisonment, until they make a run for it and escape to the seas.

This part of the film was shot in 2006, and they mention at one point that the Sea Shepard Conservation Society are heading the following year for the Antartic. You can see what happened on that voyage next week.