Madison Stewart

I lived on a yacht on the Great Barrier Reef when i was 2 and grew up free diving. When I was 12 I dived there for the first time. I was merely a diver with a passion for the oceans-- particularly the sharks that shared my childhood. Shark fishing threatened the only home i knew. I noticed a decline and it drove me to become an unprofessional underwater filmmaker. My camera is now a weapon in the fight to light the darkness around sharks- and help rid people's fear which is contributing to the sharks' demise. I am now 18 years old and have logged 450 dives, most with sharks. I have seen tiger sharks, been cage less with a great white, silver tips, silkys, caribbean reefies, grey reef, back tip, white tip, leopard, and many many more of the most incredible subjects under the water. To me the fight for the Great Barrier Reef is the most significant. When i was 14 and found out that 600 tons (78, 000 sharks) were legally taken a year by professional fishermen from within the marine park, my instinct was to react. When I was 14, I left school to begin home schooling with my father (also an avid shark lover and divemaster). I traded in my school fees for an underwater camera system. Ever since then, my footage has been used by a number of conservation societies. I also have visited schools to teach children about sharks. My films have been translated and viewed overseas and throughout Australia. Some who have seen my films have changed the way they think about sharks. I may be young, but I will be the one who is around to see the effects of what is decided by the adults now. So, I should have more say than anyone. I fear the future of my oceans and my sharks on the Great Barrier Reef that I call home. I will fight for it until it is safe again. I urge australia to control the government. I invite every person to rise up against the fear of sharks that has fueled their destruction. In a falling ocean our only solace lies in fighting against the destruction. It's a cause I'm happy to devote my life to. All I want right now is my sharks back. Time will not heal the wounds we have inflicted on the oceans, but we can change how we spend the time we have left. My lifetime is too short to have already seen a deterioration. Now our reaction is the sharks' only hope. My name is Madison Stewart- welcome to the shark side :)