For information and a persuasive case about sharks, though, this is less than ideal. Instead, the snooty nature of Rob Stewart makes him a sort of extravagant Tom Cruise of the sea. His droning delivery is more Stuart Dooley of King of the Hill than David Attenborough and his unvarying tedious recitation delivers nothing new by way of facts or helpful information. It’s not an entirely futile piece, as it does shed some amount of light on an important issue, but I think Sharkwater does more for the schism of environmentalism than it does good for the planet or the sharks.

Back to those moral questions, though. No matter what we might think about shark poaching or the issue of sharks in general, do the actions of someone like Paul Watson not warrant a legal assessment of some sort? He’s on camera ramming a boat and wrapping his own vessel in barbed freaking wire so that the coast guard can’t board him. Isn’t it possible that the actions of ramming a smaller boat and trying to flood it in open water could be construed as “attempted murder?”

Is there a limit to the big-headed nature of Rob Stewart?

All of these moral questions have poor answers. As such, Sharkwater serves to chip away at its own purpose. How can we respect the ethical clout of Stewart and Watson when they’re running form the law and constantly trying to frame their personal experiences in some lukewarm ocean of larger consequence?

Sadly, “the cause” usually suffers from this type of puff journalism and grandiloquent near-terrorism. When Watson ludicrously compares himself and his fellows to Gandhi, it brings up a rank taste. Watson’s patent unwillingness to face up to the consequences of his actions (which would likely bring more consciousness to the issue anyway) undermines the force of his position and, as such, undermines the entire documentary.

Stewart botches the job from the opening frame and Sharkwater becomes less and less about the sharks with each fleeting moment. It is best to watch the documentary with an open mind, however, and to try to grapple with the feeble facts and figures with some better reference material after the fact. There are several excellent documentaries about sharks out there which by and large make the same point Stewart tries to here. And they do it without Speedos.

The DVD also contains a featurette called “Beneath the Surface” and a slew of trailers and TV spots. There is also a rather funny Naval training film about sharks.