Canada's fisheries minister credited Rob Stewart, the filmmaker behind 'Sharkwater,' with raising global awareness about the shark-fin trade.

"Twenty-eight populations of rays and shark-like rays have disappeared from the world's oceans. We have a very real risk our grandchildren won't see these animals in the wild," SFU's Dr. Nick Dulvy said.

Conservationists at a global wildlife conference on Monday voted to regulate the trade of shark species that have been threatened because their fins are used to make expensive delicacies in Asia.