Cape Times - “A limit? I can see none.”
That was the view of Cape Town-based endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh on Monday when asked if there were any limits in his attempts to save the world’s oceans and their marine ecosystems.
Pugh said that he would be heading to Russia on Wednesday to discuss the creation of a maritime national park in Antarctic waters with government officials at the Kremlin.
Pugh recently completed the most southerly swim in human history in Antarctica, with the intention of gaining support for the Ross Sea to become a Marine Protected Area (MPA).
Growing up in Britain, Pugh completed his final two years of high school in Cape Town. After his studies at UCT, he started his career as a maritime lawyer at Dawson, Edwards & Associates.
At the age of 17, Pugh did his first Robben Island swim. In 2013, the Briton was appointed the United Nations Environment Programme’s Patron of the Oceans.
“My story is a long journey. I have been a swimmer for 30 years, and you start questioning certain things when you see what I saw. I thought it was important to stand up and get involved,” Pugh said.
His work as an environmental campaigner consists of three phases: draw attention to the issue, access policy-makers and pursue them to create MPAs.
After completing five swims in the icy waters of the Ross Sea, Pugh plans to launch phase two of his project on Thursday and Friday, when the public speaker and book author will try to convince Russian officials to create the world’s biggest protected area – in the sea or on land.
Russia is currently presiding over the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the body which grants MPAs.
The Ross Sea, 3 500km below the heel of New Zealand, is one of the most pristine marine ecosystems in the world and provides sea creatures such as cold water corals, seals, killer whales and Adélie penguins with 1.34 million square kilometres of habitat.
As stated by Pugh, climate change and overfishing tend to cause irreversible damage to the most intact ecosystem on the planet, which is also of great significance to researchers and biologists.
The ocean advocate said: “I dream that by the end of this year the Ross Sea will be a MPA, and that within the next five years the whole Antarctic will be protected.”
With regards to further projects, Pugh said that “there is nothing in the pipeline”, since he just came back from his Antarctic adventure.
His record-breaking swims were not about sport, but a lifetime dedication to conserve ocean wildlife and maritime biodiversity.
Cape Times