Swimmer circumnavigates Martha’s Winery for sharks : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5172x3448+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3f%2Fd3%2F5eff532d4f36a8a7493e9bd2a96e%2Fap25135721659726.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5172x3448+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3f%2Fd3%2F5eff532d4f36a8a7493e9bd2a96e%2Fap25135721659726.jpg" class="img" alt="Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh swims near the Edgartown Harbor Light on Thursday in Edgartown, Mass." fetchpriority="high"/> Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh swims close to the Edgartown Harbor Mild on Thursday in Edgartown, Mass. Robert F. Bukaty/AP disguise caption

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Robert F. Bukaty/AP VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. — A British-South African endurance athlete turned the primary individual to swim across the island of Martha's Winery on Monday, finishing a 60-mile (97-kilometer) trek over a number of days to boost consciousness in regards to the plight of sharks because the movie "Jaws" nears its fiftieth birthday.

Lewis Pugh, 55, started swimming a number of hours a day within the 47-degree (8 levels Celsius) water on Might 15. He desires to vary public perceptions and encourage protections for the at-risk animals — which he mentioned the movie maligned as "villains, as cold-blooded killers."

"We have been combating sharks for 50 years," he mentioned after finishing the final 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) of the swim earlier than exiting the ocean on the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, close to the place "Jaws" was filmed. "Now, we have to make peace with them."

In complete, Pugh swam for about 24 hours over 12 days. His first cease in Edgartown after greeting cheering followers on the seashore was at an ice cream store, the place he loved a cone of salted caramel and berry brownie.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2524x1420+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2f%2Fcd%2Fa500781a49c4b2960f34d07a0489%2Fap25134762068505.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2524x1420+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2f%2Fcd%2Fa500781a49c4b2960f34d07a0489%2Fap25134762068505.jpg" class="img" alt="A man navigates the wake behind the Martha's Vineyard Ferry on Monday in Vineyard Haven, Mass." loading="lazy"/> A person navigates the wake behind the Martha's Winery Ferry on Monday in Winery Haven, Mass. Charles Krupa/AP disguise caption

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Charles Krupa/AP Tough waters made a chilly swim more durable Pugh mentioned this was amongst his most troublesome endurance swims in an nearly 40-year profession, which says quite a bit for somebody who has swum close to glaciers and volcanoes, and amongst hippos, crocodiles and polar bears. Pugh was the primary athlete to swim throughout the North Pole and full a long-distance swim in each one of many world's oceans.

He mentioned he anticipated the swim to be troublesome due to the water temperature, the space and the truth that it was taking place in the course of the begin of shark migration season. However the climate proved probably the most difficult aspect of all.

"It has been a protracted journey, it actually has — 12 days, chilly water, fixed wind, waves, after which all the time pondering of what could also be beneath me. It has been an enormous swim. A really huge swim," he mentioned. "Once you swim for 12 days, you allow as one individual and I believe you come again as a distinct individual with a brand new reflection on what you have been by means of."

Day after day, Pugh entered the island's frigid waters sporting simply trunks, a cap and goggles, enduring foul climate as a nor'easter dumped 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain on elements of New England and flooded streets on Martha's Winery.

Some days, he was solely in a position to make it somewhat over half a mile (1 kilometer) earlier than wind and waves made it inconceivable to see past an arm's size forward. In some instances, he needed to make up misplaced distance by swimming a number of legs in a day.

"I used to be simply getting actually chilly and swallowing plenty of sea water, not making headway and then you definitely're continually pondering, 'Are we taking the fitting route right here? Ought to we go additional out to sea? Ought to we get nearer in?'" he mentioned. "And in the meantime you are combating currents."

Endurance swimmer's newest feat is supposed to assist shield sharks However Pugh — who has been named a United Nations Patron of the Oceans and infrequently swims to boost consciousness for environmental causes — mentioned no swim is with out threat, and that drastic measures are wanted to get his message throughout: About 274,000 sharks are killed globally every day, a price of almost 100 million yearly, based on the American Affiliation for the Development of Science.

On Monday, Pugh referred to as the decimation of sharks an "ecocide."

"I believe defending sharks is an important a part of the jigsaw puzzle of defending the oceans," he mentioned.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffc%2F75%2F06187dcc416db009c31612de7166%2Fap25146652461537.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffc%2F75%2F06187dcc416db009c31612de7166%2Fap25146652461537.jpg" class="img" alt="British South African endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh stretches before entering the water to complete his 12-day 62-mile swim around the island of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first blockbuster film "Jaws"' release on Monday." loading="lazy"/> British South African endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh stretches earlier than getting into the water to finish his 12-day 62-mile swim across the island of Martha's Winery, Mass., forward of the fiftieth anniversary of the primary blockbuster movie "Jaws"' launch on Monday. Leah Willingham/AP disguise caption

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Leah Willingham/AP "Jaws," which was filmed in Edgartown, and referred to as Amity Island for the film, created Hollywood's blockbuster tradition when it was launched in summer season 1975, setting new field workplace data and incomes three Academy Awards. The film would form views of the ocean for many years to return.

Each director Steven Spielberg and writer Peter Benchley expressed remorse that viewers of the movie turned so afraid of sharks, and each later contributed to conservation efforts as their populations declined, largely attributable to business fishing.

Pugh's endeavor additionally coincided with the New England Aquarium's first confirmed sighting this season of a white shark, off the close by island of Nantucket. As a precaution, Pugh was accompanied on his swim by security personnel in a ship and a kayak, whose paddler is utilizing a "Shark Protect" system to create a low-intensity electrical discipline within the water to discourage sharks with out harming them.

There have been no shark sightings alongside Pugh's journey, however he mentioned he noticed solar fish, seals and terns.

He now plans to journey to New York for just a few days to do interviews in regards to the swim and focus on shark conservation earlier than returning to his house of Plymouth, England.