Filmmaker Rob Stewart brought the issue of shark-finning and its effects on the oceans to the world’s attention when he made his first documentary, Sharkwater.
He filmed sharks and finning operations all over the world, and he founded the Fin Free movement. As a result many countries have banned shark-finning and the sale of shark fins.
However, it became apparent that despite this, sharks were disappearing at an alarming rate, and many species are headed for extinction. Rob wanted to know where these sharks were going, so he decided to make a second Sharkwater film, Sharkwater Extinction, by raising funds himself so that the film could be finished as soon as possible.
He knew that time had run out for sharks. Sharks are being fished whole to avoid anti-finning laws, and being used for pet food, fertilizer, livestock feed, makeup, moisturizer and fast food under the guise of “flake,” “whitefish” and “rock salmon.” Rob was filming the elusive sawfish (a species of ray with a saw-like snout) for his new documentary when he died on Jan. 31.
Six years ago, Margaret McCullough heard Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May speak about the inhumane practice of shark-finning, and how this was causing shark populations to plummet. She watched Sharkwater, and was horrified at what was happening around the world and so decided to focus on sharks with her Grade 6 classes.
She desperately wanted to do something to help, but did not know what until climate scientist and MLA Andrew Weaver spoke to her about Rob Stewart. Weaver was in Rob’s second film Revolution, so they knew each other well, and he suggested that they try to get Rob to come to Victoria to speak to students about sharks and Sharkwater.
On Feb. 2, 2012, the University of Victoria and Glenlyon Norfolk School arranged for Rob to speak. Glenlyon Norfolk Middle School students watched Sharkwater and then listened to Rob in the afternoon. As he spoke with such passion about sharks, we looked at the students as they listened — they were captivated, we all were. The same went for University of Victoria students that same evening.
It was a life-changing day. Rob asked Margaret to start a Fin Free chapter in Victoria, and she jumped right in, despite not knowing anything about how to run a campaign.
An inspired group of students and two teachers from Glenlyon Norfolk School joined Fin Free, and together with dedicated members of the Vancouver Animal Defence League spent the next five years visiting restaurants on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland, asking them to stop selling shark fin, making presentations to councils asking for bans on the sale of shark fin, meeting with provincial and federal politicians (notably Weaver and Murray Rankin), collecting thousands of petition signatures and educating everyone they met about the issue.
This resulted in restaurants in Victoria and many in the Vancouver area taking shark fin off the menu, and many municipalities in B.C. banning the sale of shark fin. During this time, Rob always took the time to speak to and inspire the Fin Free students, even when he was filming halfway around the world.
He even came to Victoria again during the 2013 film festival, when he met the Fin Free students and kept their passion to help sharks alive. The group kept in close contact with Rob throughout the past five years, and he was a continued source of strength and inspiration, and a true friend.
Even though the leader of the Fin Free movement is gone, we know that he has inspired a global movement whose dedicated members will carry on his work. The future of the oceans is at stake. When asked why we should care about sharks, Rob said: “There is simply no issue more important. Conservation is the preservation of human life on earth, and that, above all else, is worth fighting for.”
Margaret McCullough and Jen Harvey are founders of Fin Free Victoria. Fin Free is a global campaign addressing the mass slaughter of sharks caused by the high demand for shark products.
