ROB STEWART DEC 28 1979 – JAN 31 2017
Today we remember Rob Stewart, founder of United Conservationists and the Fin Free movement. We are so grateful for the work you did in your lifetime in saving sharks and the oceans—and teaching us to live in harmony with nature.
We promise your work and your mission continues through all of us. United Conservationists and its Fin Free movement that you created have remained active, and we have also founded the Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation.
Together we created the “Save Sharks” PSAs seen by over 2 million people. Other successes include:
· Canada has banned the shark fin trade
· Florida and New Jersey have banned the shark fin trade
· California has banned drift nets
· CITES has added protections for Makos
· The US Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act passed the House a year ago, and we continue to fight for its final vote in the Senate
We’ve presented your film and message to the United Nations and European Commission as well countries around the world including the UK, Russia, China, Hong Kong, South America, Central America, US, Middle East and Africa. Educational materials are available free across the world and your films are available in translated languages, free for educational use.
You were right—people will do the right thing, when they understand the issues.
The Sharkwater vessel continues to patrol and research the eastern Pacific, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas and provide a filming platform for new shows and films that will provide more shark awareness and more impact. Millions more square miles of marine protected areas have been created or added since Sharkwater, and more since your death.
We cannot thank you enough for your impact and never-ending drive to save sharks, the oceans and all of us.
We will miss you forever and your mission continues through all of us.
Ten Texas restaurants and markets in the Houston and Dallas area were charged with illegally selling shark fin products—including fins from several protected shark species.
Officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department seized several hundred pounds of shark fins from the businesses.
“Protecting the many shark species residing and migrating through the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the illegally trafficked sharks from around the world, offered for sale in Texas is one of our highest priorities,” said Col. Grahame Jones, Law Enforcement Director at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in a statement.
Shark fin soup has been banned in Texas and many other states and countries around the world.
In Hong Kong, officials have made the largest shark fin seizure in the city’s history, uncovering 26 tons inside two shipping containers.
80% of the fins came from endangered species. This seizure is more than double the total amount of fins uncovered in 2019. The total value of the fins, which came from about 38,500 sharks, is equal to more than $1 million.
The two containers arrived from Ecuador in January and were opened in late April and early May. The 57-year-old owner was arrested and released on bail, pending investigation.
Selling and consuming shark fins is legal in Hong Kong, but that does not cover endangered species. Anyone who is found to be importing an endangered species without a license could face up to 10 years in jail and a $10 million fine.
If this news outrages you, please sign this petition to demand justice for these sharks! ~Brie Davis
The Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation continues Rob’s mission of education and awareness, through the Shark Free Campaign, widespread distribution of his films, use of content creation for film, TV, online, multi-media and widespread social media, work with NGOs and other organizations focused on like-minded initiatives.
We are seeking experienced, highly-skilled Executive Director of Business Operations and Strategic Initiatives to join our team. In this role, you will be responsible for overseeing and managing the entire foundation’s activities and will report directly to the board. You will lead a diverse team of passionate leaders to ensure that our organization is meeting its goals and objectives efficiently and reliably. You will be an outstanding collaborator and problem solver who can use data, business acumen and leadership to drive the foundation forward across multiple functions. You will be energized by a fast-paced environment and excited about working with both strategic and tactical issues.
For more information please click here to Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation.
Now Available on Amazon Prime and Crave TV!
Sharkwater Extinction saw its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, debuting to a standing ovation.
The inspiring documentary follows his journey to expose the massive illegal shark fin industry and the political corruption behind it, which is leading to the decimation of sharks in our oceans. It also unveils the fact that endangered sharks are being added to many of our everyday products, even those intended for human consumption.
Rob Stewart was in the midst of completing his third and final film, when he tragically passed while diving off the Florida Keys in January of 2017. Friends and family of Rob made it their mission to complete the film and honor his legacy.
The film has gone on to win 28 awards, in 40 festivals and continues to win more across the globe.
Be sure to check out the inspiring documentary, which is jam-packed with action and adventure, as it follows Rob Stewart’s eye-opening fight to save sharks. It’s now available on DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes, and other streaming platforms, including Crave TV in Canada and Amazon Prime in the United States, Germany, Japan and more. It’s coming soon (July 21, 2019) to Amazon Prime in Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. ~Emily Chavez
Filmmaker Rob Stewart was celebrated and honored with two awards, and a new award was announced in his name during the Cannes Film Festival.
The revolutionary documentary, Sharkwater Extinction, was also screened on May 16, 2019 as the official premiere of Positive Cinema Week.
Rob Stewart was then honored with two awards on different days. He received “Ocean Conservationist Hero Award” at The Monaco Better World Forum Gala on May 18, and the “’Best Conservation’ Feature Length Documentary” from the Artisan Festival International (AFI) World Peace Initiative on May 22. A new award in Rob’s name was announced at the closing ceremony for positive cinema week for ‘Best Documentary’ and was presented by Rob’s parents, Sandy and Brian Stewart.
Since Sharkwater Extinction’s debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018, the film has gone on to win 28 awards, and continues to win more across the world.
To continue in Rob’s footsteps, a new website will be launching June 8, 2019 on World Ocean’s day for the Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation, where millions of his followers can continue the conservation work he started.
For a limited time LUSH has brought back their popular Shark Fin Soap for World Oceans Day. The blue wave-shaped bars adorned with a shark fin cost just 5.95 and are available across North America. This limited edition soap sells out quickly, so shop now in Canada or the U.S.
100% of the proceeds from LUSH’s Shark Attack and Healthy Oceans campaigns will go to support shark conservation, facilitating shark fin bans globally, and save the world’s oceans.
An estimated 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year – that’s over 11,000 every hour. Cruel and careless practices such as longline fishing have led to a 90% drop in shark populations in just 30 years – an unsustainable rate of decline that is turning apex predators into ghost stories and having a decimating impact on our oceans’ ecosystems. Many sharks are used for various products we don’t even realize contain shark, and more still are mutilated for their fins and then tossed back into the water to suffocate or be eaten alive. Now is the time to turn the tide on the demand for sharks – to stop consuming products that use sharks, and to call for a worldwide ban on all longline fishing and the possession of shark fins.
Take the pledge to join this effort to #SaveSharks, stop the #SharkAttack, and go #FinFree today:
See Lush's partnership with Fin Free: https://www.lushusa.com/stories/article_sharkwater-to-finfree.html
Ahead of its release, the production team has launched an exclusive teaser and you get to see it first. Watch a sneak peek.
The teaser features a song written for Rob and performed by award winning singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, a truly moving tribute titled "Child of the Water."
As you know, Rob dedicated his life to saving sharks. His new movie furthers this critical mission, exposing the issues facing sharks – and the world’s populations that rely upon these predators and healthy oceans for our very survival.
Like and share to get involved in the mission and stay tuned to our news feed to receive early information about the upcoming release, campaigns and launch events.
Each year up to 73 million sharks are killed primarily for their fins, threatening many species of shark with extinction and jeopardizing our marine ecosystems. The brutal, inhumane practice of shark finning continues in our oceans – fins are cut off of live sharks and the still-living creature is thrown back overboard to drown or bleed to death.
Canadians now have an opportunity to help halt the shark fin trade. Senator Michael MacDonald has introduced Bill S-238, which would ban the importation of shark fins into Canada.
You can show your support for ending the shark fin trade in our country, by joining our Thunderclap campaign. By signing up now, your voice will be heard with hundreds of others this Thursday, April 27th – the day Toronto City Council will vote on a motion of support for Senator MacDonald’s bill.
Please just take a few minutes to do two simple things:
1) Sign up for our Thunderclap campaign – click this link: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/56283-toronto-yes-to-shark-fin-ban
2) Share this email with your friends and contacts and ask them to do the same!
This Thursday we will speak out loud and strong – we want shark fin out of Canada!
With two young sisters trapped in the ocean while being hunted by a 'murderous' shark, 47 Meters Down holds true to Hollywood's typical shark thriller formula.
Year after year the film industry produces movies about 'bloodthirsty' sharks savagely hunting unsuspecting victims. They aim to thrill and they aim to scare.
But what the film industry doesn't show us is the beautiful and gentle nature of most sharks. That 97% of the 500+ species of sharks are completely HARMLESS to humans. And that more people DIE per year by choking on hot dogs than from shark attacks.
What they don't tell you is that our oceans are dying because of overfishing, bycatch and shark finning.
Star of 47 Meters Down, Mandy Moore knows how harmful these films can be,
“Jaws ruins it for everybody. I grew up in Florida going to the beach and I’ve been terrified of going into the water as long as I can remember"
If we continue to characterize sharks as merciless killers, how could we possible care enough to save them from extinction? The first step towards saving our oceans is eliminating this negative stigma.
Learn more.