Sharkwater - When Sharks Die
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Sharkwater - When Sharks Die |
| Original title | Sharkwater |
| Country of production | Canada |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2007 |
| length | Cinema: 88 minutes DVD: 85 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 12 JMK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rob Stewart |
| script | Rob Stewart |
| production | Rob Stewart |
| music | Jeff Rona |
| camera | Rob Stewart |
| cut | Michael Clarke, Rik Morden, Chuck Miller, Jeremy Stuart |
| occupation | |
| |
Sharkwater (Original title: Sharkwater ) is a 2007 Canadian documentary directed by Rob Stewart . The diver, underwater photographer and biologist originally only wanted to make a nice underwater film about sharks in order to refute old prejudices against animals, but then came across illegal businesses and criminal structures that do so-called shark finning and then also focused on people .
action
The film begins with clips from the selected film Shark Defense of the US Air Force from 1964, mixed with childhood pictures of Rob Stewart . Sharks have existed for around 400 million years, long before the dinosaurs, making them one of the oldest living things on earth, 2/3 of which is covered with water and on which over 80 percent of life is in water.
Media reports and especially feature films like Jaws have portrayed sharks as beasts and cannibals and therefore have a bad reputation. Completely wrong, as Stewart explains, since sharks are really afraid of humans and extremely rarely bite humans. Only 5 people are killed by a shark per year as a result of carelessness, compared to 100 people per year from elephants, 2,400 from executions, 1.2 million from traffic accidents and 8 million from starvation. It raises the question of why we fear sharks instead of elephants when elephants kill 20 times more people every year and why more people want to save elephants when sharks are more endangered. There are also no international agreements to protect sharks.
Stewart travels for a photo assignment on to Ecuador belonging Galapagos Islands in the Pacific and I will enter one of the largest populations of hammerhead sharks filming. After the dive, Stewart comes across two boats fishing with longlines , which are 90 km long and equipped with 16,000 baits. Around 160 sharks died from these, and Stewart cut loose the few surviving animals.
Stewart spoke to various conservation organizations, but hardly anyone was actively involved in protecting the sharks. Then he met Paul Watson and his organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). The SSCS does not just carry out protests, but is committed to actively enforcing the existing laws and regulations in the waters. Watson explains that his organization fills a vacuum in the enforcement of protective regulations, as there is currently no international authority or organization that carries out this task. Even the highest international agency dealing with fisheries, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has no authority to enforce fishing quotas in international waters.
The SSCS is launching a campaign against poachers in two of the last marine protected areas for sharks, the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador) and the Cocos Island (Costa Rica) , which have the largest shark population in the world. The President of Costa Rica is asking the SSCS for help because the authorities in his country have neither the experience nor the resources to take action against the illegal killing of sharks. Stewart joins Watson's campaign by boarding SSCS ship Ocean Warrior in Los Angeles . After 12 days, off Guatemala , they encounter the Costa Rican boat Varadero , on which poachers are illegally fishing for longlines . When the authorities in Guatemala were informed over the radio, the SSCS was asked to escort the boat to the port, where the crew of the Varadero were to be arrested. When the crew is asked to stop killing the sharks, they continue.
The reason for the illegal killing of the sharks is always for profit and it is not about the shark meat, as only the fin is cut off and the dying shark is thrown back into the sea. The demand for the fins comes from Asia, where the shark fin soup is a symbol of wealth and status and prices of up to 90 US dollars for a soup plate can be achieved. While the pound of shark fin costs around 0.80 US dollars for local fishermen, in Asia up to 200 US dollars are charged for it. The greatest profit is made by middlemen and resellers and not by fishermen. The fin itself is tasteless and only an accessory to a soup flavored with chicken or pork broth. Since sharks are also at the top of the food chain, high levels of mercury and other heavy metals have built up in their bodies .
The Varadero poachers have meanwhile continued to kill sharks and have refused to come with them. When the boat tries to escape, a water cannon is used to try to paralyze the boat's engines. After the Ocean Warrior has scraped along the side of the Varadero , the crew finally agrees to come along voluntarily and is towed towards Guatemala.
On the way there, however, the shark mafia let go of their relationships and so a gunboat was dispatched, which is now to arrest the crew of the Ocean Warrior . So you have to release the poachers' boat and set off for Costa Rica. Upon arrival in Puntarenas , they must realize that even an official invitation from the president cannot protect them from the powerful shark mafia. She had ensured that instead of the poachers (who violated Guatemalan, Costa Rican and international law), the captain of the ocean warrior Paul Watson should be charged. The crew is placed under house arrest and Watson has to deal with the Costa Rican authorities who, according to a local, are being bribed by the Taiwanese mafia, which runs the illegal shark fin business in Costa Rica.
Stewart investigates clues with a hidden camera and actually discovers tens of thousands of shark fins lying on roofs to dry in the city, as well as an entire street full of companies that process and package shark fins - although shark finning is officially banned in Costa Rica. The shark fin industry is apparently working unmolested by the authorities. Now they have to realize that they cannot expect a fair trial in Costa Rica and that their lives are threatened by the shark mafia.
Back on the boat they learn that they are now trying to prevent further investigations by locking them up indefinitely. They manage to flee in time before the coast guard in international waters, which was after them with machine guns.
In Santa Cruz they meet with those responsible for the National Park of the Galápagos Islands, who have invited them to protect the sanctuary from illegal fishermen. Although the Galápagos are a marine reserve, local residents are allowed to fish for their own use. However, the fishermen took advantage of this and sold their catch overseas on a large scale. For example, fishing quotas were introduced, to which the fishermen reacted with threats, demolition of the buildings of the national park and taking hostages. The government then gave in and increased the fishing quotas. After sea cucumbers were almost wiped out by overfishing locally , the population is putting pressure to legalize longline fishing.
Stewart suddenly has severe pain in his leg. At the hospital, blood poisoning is diagnosed, he had staph bacteria in the leg, who came from a small cut on the foot in his body. Meanwhile, the Galápagos Islands have given in to pressure from lobbyists and legalized longline fishing. In order to make more profit, they have specialized in catching sharks. Thus, after Costa Rica, the Galápagos Islands are also in the hands of the shark fin industry.
Paul Watson and the SSCS are now starting a campaign against illegal whaling in Antarctica . Watson believes that governments are incapable of solving problems or making changes on their own. As with Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela , major social changes came from particularly committed individuals and small civil rights groups. In the same way, he does not rely on governments to solve ecological problems, but on active individuals and non-governmental organizations .
Stewart recovers from blood poisoning and secretly travels back to Costa Rica. There he meets a demonstration by the locals for the sharks, as their case had drawn attention to the shark mafia in the country. Stewart can now travel undetected to the Coconut Islands and work to save the sharks, which are also important for the earth's ecosystem and the survival of mankind: Sharks keep the unhindered reproduction of animals under control that eat phytoplankton . Phytoplankton, in turn, is the largest store of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and produces around 70 percent of the oxygen on earth.
background
- The German premiere took place on February 14, 2008 during the Berlinale 2008 (outside of the competition). The cinema release in Germany was on April 10, 2008, and the film was released on DVD on October 24, 2008.
- In the film, a well-known scene from Jaws shown in which Susan back line the first victim of the shark depicted in the film.
Reviews
“Sharkwater is an image film for the most feared species in the world. [..] Stewart takes the audience down with such grandiose, gripping and touching images that every human viewer dreams of being part of the shark society. "
“Rob Stewart first saw the practices of shark hunters in April 2002. [..] By 2007, he filmed over 400 hours of footage in 15 countries to show how shark populations are being wrecked around the world - and the vast industry behind them Hides machinations of the Haimafia. "
“Not only very exciting for divers - no, Sharkwater spoils its audience with breathtaking underwater shots and a thrilling dynamic. [..] A worth seeing, extremely valuable documentary about the ocean, the life support system of the earth, and about the sharks. - Predicate valuable. "
“The film exposes a web of crime and the merciless destruction of nature. In the last 50 years alone, the global shark population has shrunk by 90 percent. Sharkwater "documents natural beauty and man-made cruelty as well as the commitment of individuals against the profit addiction of international mafia structures. And it shows how the use of action makes a difference: in Costa Rica after all, people went against the organized killing of the Sharks on the street. "
Awards
- Canada's Top Ten: Toronto International Film Festival
- People's Choice: Atlantic International Film Festival
- People's Choice: Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
- Best Documentary: Fort Lauderdale International Film Festiva
- Spirit of Independents Award: Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
- Special Jury Award: Hawaii International Film Festival
- Best Musical Composition: France World Festival of Underwater Pictures
- Prix Planete Thalassa: France World Festival of Underwater Pictures
- Best of the Festival Palm Springs: International Film Festival
- Best International Doc: Beverly Hills Hi-Def Festival
- Best HD Feature: AFI Dallas International Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award for Best Feature: Gen Art Film Festival
- Grand Jury Award for Best Feature: Gen Art Film Festival
- Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award: Shark Research Institute
- Special Jury Award: 15 Short Film Festival - Charlotte, NC
- Must-See Award (Category: Wake-Up Films): Mountain film in Telluride
- Hero of Conservation - Water Category: Conservation for the Oceans Foundation
- Top Ten Films: Cambridge Film Festival
- Jameson Audience Award: for Best International Documentary Encounters South African Int'l Doc. festival
- Best Documentary: Film - Nominee Critics Choice Awards
- Animal Action Award: International Fund for Animal Welfare
- Best Documentary: Directors Guild of Canada
- Best Of The Festival: Santa Barbara Ocean Film Festival
- Best Sound: Nominee Golden Reel Awards
- Best Documentary: Nominee Genie Awards
- Best Environmental: Film of 2008 National Ocean Film Festival Alliance
- Best Feature Documentary: Genesis Awards
- Audience Award: Durban Int'l Film Festival, SA
- Activism through Adventure: Adventure Film Festival 2008 Boulder, CO
- Theatrical Award - Nominated Wildscreen Festival 2008: Panda Award
- Youth Documentary Award: Bergen International Film Festival
literature
- Rob Stewart: Sharkwater: The Photographs (English). Key Porter Books (2007), ISBN 978-1-55263-971-9
Web links
- German website for the film ( English version )
- Sharkwater - If sharks die in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sharkwater - When Sharks Die in the Lexicon of International Films
- Illegal fishing: "Shark fin hunters have an easy job" in GEO magazine
- The brutal business of shark finning ( Memento from December 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) at Sea Shepherd Germany
Individual evidence
- ↑ Age rating for Sharkwater - When Sharks Die . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ Production notes for the DVD
- ↑ And the person who has a knife , interview with Rob Stewart in Süddeutsche Zeitung on April 10, 2008
- ↑ Sharkwater in Der Spiegel , issue 15/2008
- ^ Haie: The hunted hunters on GEO.de from April 9, 2008
- ^ FBW press release of the German Film and Media Assessment of February 28, 2008
- ↑ Gods of the Seas in the daily newspaper of April 5, 2008