After starting to work on our story about how Rob Stewart鈥檚 family and friends had completed his film, 鈥淪harkwater Extinction,鈥� in the aftermath of his death, it quickly became evident how deeply his influence and loss has been felt.
And not only by those closest to Stewart 鈥� including his parents , Brian Stewart and Sandra Campbell 鈥� who undertook the difficult and emotional task of overseeing the edit for the film after his tragic diving incident in January, 2017.
鈥淭o see your son on the screen every day and talking back to you, it鈥檚 like he鈥檚 there. And then the hardest part is when you turn the screen off and you know he鈥檚 gone,鈥� said Brian Stewart, in an interview with W5鈥檚 Kevin Newman.
An acclaimed Canadian filmmaker and shark conservationist, Stewart changed the way much of the world perceives sharks. His films reached international audiences and forcefully argued that sharks have been unfairly characterized as human killers and instead require protection from humanity.
As Stewart鈥檚 voice-over intones in "Sharkwater Extinction," "450 million years of shark presence on Earth has been decimated in 30 years 鈥� their population decreased by 90 per cent."
Stewart鈥檚 message of shark conservation also stemmed from a concern over human survival. He theorized that decimating populations of the oceans鈥� apex predators would lead to an explosion in fish populations鈥� putting phytoplankton, responsible for much of the world鈥檚 oxygen supply, at risk.
In his first film, 鈥淪harkwater鈥� (2006), Stewart exposed the brutal shark fin trade. At that time, sharks were being mercilessly butchered 鈥� almost solely for their fins, to be used primarily in shark fin soup 鈥� a Chinese delicacy.
鈥淪harkwater鈥� was an international sensation. It influenced bans and restrictions on shark fins in more than 90 countries and galvanized support for shark conservation.
After seeing the movie, diver Brock Cahill was moved to reach out to Stewart. An instant friendship was formed and Cahill would accompany Stewart on many dives and expeditions 鈥� including some filmed for 鈥淪harkwater Extinction.鈥�
鈥淲e all have this field or an aura or whatever you want to call it that surrounds us, and his was magical,鈥� Cahill told W5. 鈥淚t was just something that drew people to him.鈥�
Julie Andersen was a successful marketing executive, when a viewing of 鈥淪harkwater鈥� with Stewart in attendance, changed her life and career path.
鈥淚 was absolutely blown away, not just by the movie, but by this director who was this young, exuberant, passionate, amazing human being,鈥� Andersen recalled.
鈥淩ob had this presence where he just believed he could change the world, and when you were around him, you believed he could and you believed you could,鈥� she added.
Inspired, Andersen founded three shark-related non-profit organizations and has been part of the team that鈥檚 helped complete and promote 鈥淪harkwater Extinction.鈥�
鈥淲hat got us through a lot of this is the emails and messages from friends, and people that Rob never even knew, about how he changed their lives,鈥� said Brian Stewart.
Julia Barnes, 22, attended the world premiere of 鈥淪harkwater Extinction鈥� at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Barnes was just 13 when she first saw 鈥淪harkwater鈥� at school.
鈥淩ob is really a huge inspiration for me. He completely altered the course of my life,鈥� Barnes said.
She was so motivated that Barnes directed her own feature documentary about ocean conservation.
But even though Stewart鈥檚 earlier films had raised awareness about sharks and influenced laws to better protect them, he realized that the harvesting of sharks was still taking place, and had been forced underground. Sharks were now being used in pet food, fertilizer and cosmetics. He believed they were in greater danger than ever 鈥� and Stewart felt an urgency to make the film that would become 鈥淪harkwater Extinction.鈥�
Cahill was on the boat in the Florida Keys when Stewart took his final, fateful dive. They had been attempting to film a rare species of shark for 鈥淪harkwater Extinction.鈥�
鈥淚 truly believe that Robbie gave the ultimate sacrifice and gave everything that he had for what he believed in and for what he loved,鈥� Cahill told W5.
鈥淩ob would keep on swimming and he鈥檇 forge forward and he鈥檇 find a way to continue fighting for what he believed in. And I鈥檒l take his example, to the best of all of our abilities,鈥� said Cahill.
The example he set led to the effort involving Stewart鈥檚 friends, family and creative collaborators 鈥� to finish what he could not 鈥� and to promote his message of shark conservation.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 an option to give up at any point,鈥� said Brian Stewart.
His mother, Sandra Campbell, added: 鈥淗e just never wanted anything to end without people thinking there鈥檚 hope, we can change this 鈥� we can work together.鈥�
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