Sharkwater - Film Review Kill sharks=More fishes=Less plankton=Less oxigen

[andresf91 0]

I just watched a documentary film today on Max Prime, called Sharkwater. I'm not really into documentaries, but this one is awesome. Not only its topic, shark hunting, but the scenes are unbelievable and the plot is really eye-catching. The young director of this film, who was also the producer and screenplayer writer is Rob Stewart.

 

This man dove into the water in an attempt to vindicate the name of his favorite animal: the shark. This species has always been vilified for its brutality, ferocity and temper, but the truth is far from that. The sensitivity, curiosity and strength of sharks make them to be noble and quiet animals. Beautiful also. Sharks have existed in depths of the oceans since before dinosaurs inhabited the Earth.

 

The images given by the director of the film to show us all that are overwhelming. Absolutely surprising and amazing. Imagine yourself swimming around different kinds of sharks in the Ocean... yes, that's how and where you'll see Rob Stewart, who isn't afraid of these large creatures. And the fact is that, as they know they can't eat him because of this size, they don't lose energy trying to bite him.

 

But unfortunately not everything is beautiful. Things get awful when Stewart comes to denounce the indiscriminate hunting of sharks worldwide. The ambition to get shark fins, used to make soup, is gold in the Asian market. What can I say about it? Chinese and their conduct with respect to the environment leaves a lot to be desired. The appalling massacre against the whales, is the precedent for this new horror they lead. After violently removing the animal from the water, they cut the fins and throw the shark back to the water, letting it die. There are certain regulations to prevent this abuse but the bans are difficult to monitor anywhere, given the fact that sharks regularly migrate across international borders. It is not a mystery to anyone, as it is not with other species, that the decline in the number of sharks has serious consequences for the ecosystems in which they live in: sharks are an essential part of the food chain, and their predatory nature helps keep in check the population of their prey species.

 

Why is this happening? Because nobody cares that sharks' population has decreased 90% since the 80's, when the words was spread that their fins were expensive. Even Greenpeace has done little to fight this. I believe this has happened because it's not very popular: most people is afraid of sharks, and think that they like to eat people, but that's not true at all. When sharks attack people (which happens less often than when soda machines kill us, according to the figures shown in this film), people die because of blood loss, not because the shark ate them, as it can't do it since their jaw is smaller than our bodies. They can't eat us!

 

Instead, they eat smaller fishes. These fishes generally eat plankton. This plankton is the main source of oxygen to our planet. Yes, can you see the relation?

Kill sharks=More fishes=Less plankton=Less oxigen

 

The question is, how can we survive if we don't understand or do anything to accomplish with nature's laws, and we let some b*st*rds attack not only a beautiful species but also the air you'll breath tomorrow?

 

 

 

Links: Official site, Amazon, Wikipedia, IMDB. Watch the trailer on YouTube.

Edited January 3, 2009 by andresf91 (see edit history)