Image copyright Facebook Image caption Canadian film-maker Rob Stewart went missing after diving off the coast of Florida 
 
 The body of a Canadian film-maker who disappeared off the coast of Florida has reportedly been found. 
 
 Shortly after announcing that it would be suspending its search, the US Coast Guard tweeted that a body had been found at a depth of 220ft. 
 
 The 37-year-old from Toronto was known for his 2006 documentary Sharkwater. 
 
 Crews had been looking for him since 17:15 local time (22:15 GMT) on Tuesday evening, when he was reported missing while diving. 
 
 At about 15:00 on Friday, the Coast Guard announced it would suspend its search at sunset. Four hours later, it tweeted that his body had been reportedly found. 
 
 "We're confident that we've done everything we can," said a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard. "Our hearts go out to his family and friends." 
 
 Swimming with sharks - film-maker Rob Stewart 
 
 Born in Toronto in 1979, he began photographing under water at the age of 13 and became chief photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Federation 
 
 Made the documentary Sharkwater to highlight the illegal killing of sharks in a marine reserve. The film is credited with boosting shark conservation around the world 
 
 His second film Revolution suggested that environmental collapse could end human life. He has also written two books 
 
 Described by co-producer Tyler MacLeod as a "warrior for this planet and a warrior for what's right" 
 
 His family issued a statement after the announcement. 
 
 "Unfortunately it is with a heavy heart that I share Rob has been found. We are deeply saddened but take comfort that he passed while doing what he loved," family spokeswoman Victoria Gormley wrote, according to Canadian broadcaster CBC. 
 
 The Coast Guard says it searched a 5,500 sq mile area (14,244 sq km). 
 
 Mr Stewart briefly surfaced and then disappeared while diving with friends near the Florida Keys. 
 
 He was diving about six miles off the coast of Islamorada, according to his friends. 
 
 Crowdsourcing campaign 
 
 Mr Stewart's sister told CBC Toronto that he had been diving with three friends, who all made it back to the boat safely. She said that the dive was "particularly difficult". 
 
 The Coast Guard deployed a number of boats and an Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin helicopter to help with the rescue mission. 
 
 The Navy, local police and the Florida wildlife conservation commission also joined in the search. 
 
 Mr Stewart's friends fundraised and crowdsourced for volunteers to help with the search after he went missing. 
 
 Mr Stewart won national acclaim for Sharkwater, taking home more than a dozen awards. 
 
 He was in Florida filming its sequel, according to his social media accounts. ||||| Canadian filmmaker and marine biologist Rob Stewart’s body has been recovered off the Florida Keys, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed on Friday. Stewart, 37, had gone missing after going deep sea scuba diving Tuesday, visiting the wreck of the Queen of Nassau. He was in the area filming a sequel to his documentary “Sharkwater.” 
 
 Body of diver Mr Stewart reportedly found @ depth of 220 ft by ROV assist to Key Largo Vol Fire Dept. — USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) February 4, 2017 
 
 The news comes after days of rescue operations. The Coast Guard solicited volunteer help, as did film distributor D Films, which worked with Stewart and considered him a “dear friend” of the company. 
 
 “If you have a boat with searchlights, please help,” a tweet for D Film’s account read, among other calls for help and retweeted articles and videos about the search. 
 
 It is great sorrow to hear that our friend Rob Stewart has passed. Our condolences and prayers go out to the Stewart family in this time. pic.twitter.com/pTzrazLbBd — D Films (@DFilms) February 4, 2017 
 
 Stewart was best known for directing and producing the 2006 film “Sharkwater,” a critically-acclaimed conservation film that helped get shark finning banned worldwide. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival and won 31 awards internationally. 
 
 His next film, “Revolution,” expanded Stewart’s conservation efforts to at-risk ecosystems, the threats posed to the world environmentally and what young people can do to help solve the problem. 
 
 His family posted a message on the “Sharkwater” website. It read, “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.” 
 
 Stewart grew up swimming and scuba diving. It blossomed to a love of the marine, leading Stewart to study biology in school at the University of Western Ontario and zoology and marine biology in Kenya and Jamaica. ||||| The family of Toronto filmmaker Rob Stewart says his body was "found peacefully in the ocean" Friday after he disappeared Tuesday while diving in the Florida Keys. 
 
 "There are no words," says a Facebook post by Stewart's sister Alexandra. 
 
 "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." 
 
 His sister asks for privacy now in order for the family to grieve. 
 
 The U.S. Coast Guard said a body was found Friday about 90 metres from where the 37-year old Stewart surfaced from a dive on Tuesday and then disappeared. 
 
 This Jan. 25, 2013 photo shows Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart at the Modern Master Award Ceremony at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in Santa Barbara, Calif. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) 
 
 Stewart's diving partner lost consciousness as he got into the dive boat and Stewart's family believes he too may have lost consciousness. 
 
 Stewart was in Florida filming a follow up movie to his 2006 documentary Sharkwater, called Sharkwater Extinction. 
 
 A GoFundMe page that was set up to help the search for Rob Stewart has raised more than $189,000. 
 
 Stewart's family issued a brief written statement Friday evening in response to the announcement by the U.S. Coast Guard that it had found a body. 
 
 "Unfortunately it is with a heavy heart that I share Rob has been found. We are deeply saddened but take comfort that he passed while doing what he loved," family spokeswoman Victoria Gormley wrote. 
 
 Rob Stewart is seen free diving with Caribbean reef sharks near Freeport, Bahamas. (Veruschka Matchett/Sharkwater Productions) 
 
 The search for Stewart covered more than 14,000 square kilometres — an area the size of Connecticut, Coast Guard Capt. Jeffrey Janszen said Friday afternoon. Thirteen volunteer aircraft and 20 volunteer boats were part of the search, along with many volunteer divers. 
 
 Went missing on Tuesday 
 
 The Toronto filmmaker and conservationist went missing Tuesday evening during a dive off the Florida Keys. 
 
 A coast guard spokesperson said Stewart was "diving on a wreck off of Islamorada" with three other divers when he disappeared. The three others completed the dive safely. 
 
 Stewart resurfaced at the end of the dive, but as the boat was preparing to pick him up, he went back under and was not seen again. 
 
 While it wasn't clear what made Stewart go back underwater, his sister, Alexandra Stewart, told CBC Toronto earlier this week that it was a "particularly difficult" dive, going to a depth of nearly 70 metres. 
 
 The search for Stewart covered more than 14,000 square kilometres — an area the size of Connecticut. (U.S. Coast Guard Southeast/Twitter) 
 
 Won awards for his films 
 
 Stewart is best known for his 2006 documentary Sharkwater, an examination of global shark hunting and its impact on the ocean ecosystem. He was active in underwater filming. 
 
 Alexandra Stewart said her brother's latest dive was part of work for the film's upcoming sequel, Sharkwater: Extinction. 
 
 #RIP #RobStewart Thanks for inspiring divers and non divers alike to be agents of positive change for the ocean #TeamOceam #Legacy 🦈🌊🌎 pic.twitter.com/TvJibuJEgP — @projectaware 
 
 Sharkwater premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and has since won more than 40 awards at film festivals around the world. 
 
 ​​Stewart's second film, Revolution, was the highest-grossing Canadian documentary in 2013 and won 19 awards from global film festivals. 
 
 Born and raised in Toronto, Stewart studied biology at Western University in London, Ont. 
 
 'Not the news we were hoping for' 
 
 Tributes have begun to pour in on Twitter for the filmmaker. 
 
 Toronto Mayor John Tory and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, among others, have expressed condolences to Stewart's family. 
 
 Not the news we were hoping/praying for. My heartfelt sympathies go out to family & friends of #RobStewart. — @JohnTory 
 
 We're very sorry to have lost the talented filmmaker #RobStewart. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. https://t.co/jviy8OTOI0 — @TheCdnAcademy 
 
 RIP #RobStewart in the arms of the ocean you love and that loves you. A champion for sharks. My friend. #Sharkwater @teamsharkwater ....L pic.twitter.com/WzGjPe9QUN — @reallesstroud 
 
 Today we said goodbye to #RobStewart, a kind and gentle soul who worked tirelessly for justice under the sea. #RIP @teamsharkwater pic.twitter.com/hHvVZMf48c — @adriangrenier 
 
 Rob Stewart on The Hour on July 9, 2007
– The body of an award-winning Canadian filmmaker was found Friday, three days after he disappeared while diving in the Florida Keys, the BBC reports. Rob Stewart, 37, was diving at the site of a shipwreck Tuesday while filming a sequel to his 2006 documentary Sharkwater. He disappeared after surfacing following a dive, and his family believes he may have passed out. The US Coast Guard—and others—scoured 5,500 square miles for Stewart's body and had just announced it was calling off the search when Stewart's body was found. According to Variety, his body was discovered by a remote operated vehicle 220 feet underwater. It was only about 300 feet from where Stewart had surfaced and disappeared, CBC reports. Stewart's family describes him as being found "peacefully in the ocean." His sister says their family is "happy that Rob passed while doing what he loved." In addition to being a filmmaker, Stewart was a conservationist. Sharkwater, which won more than 40 awards, was instrumental in getting the practice of shark finning banned internationally.