Ron Taylor, the Australian marine conservation pioneer who helped film some of the heart-stopping, iconic underwater footage in the movie Jaws, has died. He was 78.

Wildlife conservationists led the tributes for Taylor, who died at a private hospital in Sydney yesterday.

"Oz Jacques Cousteau" ... Ron Taylor and his wife Valerie in a file picture.

He had battled myeloid leukaemia for two years, the ABC reported.

"Today is a very sad day, Ron Taylor, long-time Australian shark conservationist has passed away," the Australian Anti Shark Finning Alliance wrote on Twitter.