The Shark Net is a feature length documentary that follows a multi-year covert investigation into the illegal shark fin trade.
The film introduces the trade status and legal protections afforded to sharks through scientists and trade policy experts before pulling back the curtain on a sophisticated wildlife trafficking network operating between South America and Asia. After a massive shark fin seizure in Panama, a wanted fugitive avoids the police net until they are tracked down by wily investigators from three countries and an international NGO made up of former law enforcement officers known as the Wildlife Justice Commission. What follows is a high-stakes pursuit across three continents, featuring real undercover operations, wiretapped phone calls, and coordinated international police investigations.
As investigators close in on the shark fin trafficking network operating between Latin America, marine scientists reveal the devastating truth: we’re not just witnessing a crime—we’re watching the collapse of ocean ecosystems that have sustained life on Earth for 400 million years. The legal protections provided to shark by new laws and critical uplistings though the trade convention CITES are explored through the context of law enforcement and fishing communities who are forced to reckon with new laws and new threats.
Will the police eventually catch their quarry and dismantle their operation? Can law enforcement and conservationists work globally to save shark species from extinction?
This is both a gripping crime thriller and an urgent call to action, proving that wildlife trafficking isn’t just about saving endangered animals, it’s about human survival.
