Endurance athlete to swim around Martha’s Vineyard to change public perception of sharks

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. – Lewis Pugh has followed an unspoken regularisation during his vocation arsenic 1 of the world’s astir daring endurance swimmers: Don’t speech astir sharks. But helium plans to interruption that this week connected a aquatics astir Martha’s Vineyard, wherever “ Jaws” was filmed 50 years ago.

The British-South African was the archetypal idiosyncratic to implicit a long-distance aquatics successful each water of the satellite — and has taken connected utmost conditions everyplace from Mount Everest to the Arctic.

“On this swim, it’s precise different: We’re conscionable talking astir sharks each the time,” joked Pugh, who will, arsenic usual, deterioration nary wetsuit.

For his aquatics astir Martha’s Vineyard successful 47-degree (8-degree Celsius) h2o helium volition deterioration conscionable trunks, a headdress and goggles.

Pugh, 55, is undertaking the situation due to the fact that helium wants to alteration nationalist cognition astir the present at-risk animals — which helium said were maligned by the blockbuster movie arsenic “villains, arsenic cold-blooded killers.” He volition impulse for much extortion for sharks.

On Thursday, opening astatine the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, helium volition aquatics for 3 oregon 4 hours successful the brutally acold surf, people his advancement and walk the remainder of his waking hours connected the Vineyard educating the nationalist astir sharks. Then, he'll get successful the h2o and bash it again — and again, for an estimated 12 days, oregon nevertheless agelong it takes him to implicit the 62-mile (100-kilometer) swim.

He begins the travel conscionable aft the New England Aquarium confirmed the archetypal achromatic shark sighting of the season, earlier this week disconnected the seashore of Nantucket.

“It’s going to trial maine not lone physically, but besides mentally,” helium said, portion scoping retired upwind conditions by the starting line. “I mean each azygous time I’m going to beryllium speaking astir sharks, sharks, sharks, sharks. Then, ultimately, I’ve got to get successful the h2o afterwards and bash the swim. I accidental you tin ideate what I’ll beryllium reasoning about.”

A satellite without predators

Pugh said the aquatics volition beryllium among the astir hard he’s undertaken, which says a batch for idiosyncratic who has swum adjacent glaciers and volcanoes, and among hippos, crocodiles and polar bears. No 1 has ever swum astir the land of Martha's Vineyard before.

But Pugh, who often swims to rise consciousness for biology causes — and was this twelvemonth named the United Nations Patron of the Oceans — said nary aquatics is without hazard and that drastic measures are needed to get his connection across: Around 274,000 sharks are killed globally each time — a complaint of 100 cardinal each year, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“It was a movie astir sharks attacking humans and for 50 years, we person been attacking sharks,” helium said of “Jaws.” “It’s wholly unsustainable. It’s madness. We request to respect them.”

He emphasizes that the aquatics is not thing nonprofessionals should attempt. He’s accompanied by information unit successful a vessel and kayak and uses a “Shark Shield” instrumentality that deters sharks utilizing an electrical tract without harming them.

Pugh remembers feeling fearfulness arsenic a 16-year-old watching “Jaws” for the archetypal time. Over decades of survey and research, awe and respect person replaced his fear, arsenic helium realized the relation they play successful maintaining Earth’s progressively fragile ecosystems.

“I’m much terrified of a satellite without sharks, oregon without predators,” helium said.

The ‘Jaws’ effect connected sharks

“Jaws” is credited for creating Hollywood’s blockbuster civilization erstwhile it was released successful summertime 1975, becoming the highest grossing movie up until that clip and earning 3 Academy Awards. It would interaction however galore viewed the water for decades to come.

Both manager Steven Spielberg and writer Peter Benchley person expressed regret implicit the interaction of the movie connected viewers’ cognition of sharks. Both person since contributed to conservation efforts for animals, which person seen populations depleted owed to factors similar overfishing and clime change.

Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel each twelvemonth merchandise programming astir sharks to amended the nationalist astir the predator.

Greg Skomal, marine fisheries biologist astatine Martha’s Vineyard Fisheries wrong the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, said galore radical archer him they inactive won't aquatics successful the water due to the fact that of the sheer panic caused by the film.

“I thin to perceive the look that, ‘I haven’t gone successful the h2o since ‘Jaws’ came out,’” helium said.

But Skomal, who published a publication challenging the film's inaccuracies, said “Jaws” besides inspired galore radical — including him — to survey marine biology, starring to accrued research, acceptance and respect for the creatures.

If “Jaws” were made today, helium doesn't deliberation it'd person the aforesaid effect. But successful the 1970s, “it was conscionable cleanable successful presumption of generating this level of fearfulness to a nationalist that was mostly uneducated astir sharks, due to the fact that we were uneducated. Scientists didn’t cognize a batch astir sharks.”

Skomal said the biggest menace contributing to the diminution of the shark colonisation present is commercialized fishing, which exploded successful the precocious 1970s and is contiguous driven by precocious request for fins and nutrient utilized successful nutrient dishes, arsenic good arsenic the usage of tegument to marque leather and lipid and cartilage for cosmetics.

“I deliberation we’ve truly moved distant from this feeling, oregon the aged adage that, ‘The lone bully shark is simply a dormant shark,’” helium said. “We’re decidedly morphing from fearfulness to fascination, oregon possibly a operation of both.”

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