Rob Stewart

Roles: Director

Rob Stewart was an acclaimed filmmaker and internationally renowned activist. In Sharkwater Extinction, his third film, Stewart continues his heroic fight to save our oceans battling the billion-dollar pirate fishing trade and illegal shark fin industry. Stewart began photographing underwater when he was only 13 years old. He began his first film Sharkwater (2007) at the age of 22 after witnessing illegal longlining and indiscriminate killing of sharks within marine reserves. Stewart was the first to bring the devastating issue of shark finning to the world stage. Stewart’s second film, Revolution, premiered at TIFF and was released worldwide in 2013. This groundbreaking documentary received both critical and audience acclaim and numerous international awards. Revolution was the first film to alert the world to the catastrophic effects of Ocean Acidification caused by carbon emissions (burning fossil fuels; coal, oil, gas, deforestation).

In January, 2017, while filming his third film, Sharkwater Extinction, Stewart tragically passed away during a dive off the Florida Keys. Multiple awards and honours have since been created in Stewart’s name and the Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation has been established to ensure that Stewart’s mission to save sharks and protect the world’s oceans continues.