Director of acclaimed Sharkwater dies in dive accident

Rob Stewart (Dec 28th 1979 - Jan. 31st 2017)

He had been in Florida to film sequel Rob Stewart caught the world's attention in 2006 with his award-winning documentary Sharkwater, in which he shone the spotlight on the global slaughter of sharks. Last week, at age 37, he perished during a dive at the Alligator Reef off the coast of Florida – whilst shooting a new documentary on sharks. Last Tuesday, on January 31st, during a dive at the Alligator Reef near Florida Keys, filmmaker Rob Stewart went missing at approximately 17:15 local time. Immediately, a large-scale search involving ships and helicopters was launched. What had happened? So far, the circumstances of his disappearance are as follows: Stewart had been using a rebreather during that fateful dive. Shortly after 17:00 last Tuesday, he surfaced near the dive boat together with a buddy, giving the OK sign. His companion fell unconscious when climbing on board the dive boat, prompting the boat crew to attend to him by supplying him oxygen. When the boat crew look around to look for Stewart, he had disappeared. The crew immediately raised the alarm and a search operation by the US Coast Guard began. The search proved unsuccessful. It was only a short while after the search had been called off that divers found the Canadian's body about 90 metres from his last known position at 60 metres' depth at Alligator Reef last Friday. On the official Sharkwater website, his family leaves these moving words: "In Loving Memory Rob has been found, peacefully in the ocean. There are no words. We are so deeply grateful to everyone who helped search, and happy that Rob passed while doing what he loved. We are working on how best to honour his incredible work. The Stewart family kindly asks that they are given some private time to grieve. Thank you everyone." Filmmaker Rob Stewart won himself international acclaim with his film Sharkwater, which called for the protection of sharks. He had been very concerned about the protection of these predators and the marine ecosystems. A new documentary by Stewart will premiere in 2017. See the Sharkwater trailer here.

Scene from the movie Sharkwater (c) Rob Stewart / Sharkwater

Scene from the movie Sharkwater (c) Rob Stewart / Sharkwater

Scene from the movie Sharkwater (c) Rob Stewart / Sharkwater

Scene from the movie Sharkwater (c) Rob Stewart / Sharkwater

Rob Stewart free diving with Caribbean reef sharks. Freeport Bahamas. (c) Veruschka Matchett