Latest news with #LewisPugh
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
'Jaws' ocean swimmer Lewis Pugh backs Monica Lennon's ecocide law for Scotland
'Jaws' ocean swimmer Lewis Pugh backs Monica Lennon's ecocide law for Scotland Endurance swimmer and campaigner Pugh has just finished an epic 12-day swim in the waters where 'Jaws' was filmed to raise awareness of endangered sharks. Lewis Pugh speaks with press directly after completing his 12-day 62-mile swim around the island of Martha's Vineyard. (Image: AP Photo/Leah Willingham ) Endurance swimmer and world-renowned oceans campaigner Lewis Pugh has thrown his weight behind Monica Lennon's Scottish Ecocide Bill. Pugh, 55, has just finished an epic 12-day swim around Martha's Vineyard in the US - where the movie 'Jaws' was filmed - raising awareness of endangered sharks. And he's backing Labour MSP Lennon's plan to criminalise mass environmental destruction in Scotland - saying it's an 'important step' in the global fight to save our wildlife. Pugh, who is the UN Patron of the Oceans, said: 'I've spent 40 years swimming in the world's oceans, and I've seen them change dramatically. 'Take sharks, for example - on average, 274,000 are killed globally every single day. These creatures were around before the dinosaurs, and yet in my lifetime, they've been pushed to the brink. 'For too long, the law hasn't kept pace with the damage we're doing. Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh on his swim around Martha's Vineyard in the US (Image: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty ) "When we harm nature like this, it's not just wildlife that suffers - we're creating real problems for people too: scarcity, stress, even conflict. Article continues below 'This is about justice - about protecting what we cannot replace. 'Some damage is so severe, so permanent, it should be unthinkable. "We need to draw a clear red line that says: you will not cross this. 'This development in Scotland is an important step forward.' Monica Lennon at the launch event for the proposed ecocide bill in Edinburgh on November 8, 2023. Pugh, from Plymouth in Devon, was the first person to undertake a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world. He pioneered the first swim across the North Pole, the first swim along the length of the English Channel, and even swam under Antarctic ice in 2020 to show the impacts of climate change. In 2023, he swam the full length of the Hudson River in New York to raise issues around water quality. Now he has just braved the great white shark hotspot around Martha's Vineyard, an island off Massachusetts, on a 60-mile swim to mark the 50th anniversary of the Steven Spielberg 1975 classic, Jaws. Documenting his progress on social media under #TheSharkSwim hashtag, Pugh has highlighted the threats to the survival of sharks such as overfishing. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. (Image: Getty Images ) Writing on X on Monday, he revealed: "I've just completed #TheSharkSwim "12 days and 59 miles around the island of Martha's Vineyard, where Jaws was filmed 50 years ago. "It's been one of the toughest swims of my life. Cold water, relentless wind, big waves and the constant thought of what might be beneath me. But I swam here for a reason "Jaws has shaped our perception of sharks as vindictive killers. That fear spread across the globe and lasted for half a century. "Now it's time to change the narrative for a new generation. "Sharks are not monsters. They're magnificent. They're essential. And they're seriously endangered. "As apex predators, they keep the ocean in balance. Take them out, and the entire ecosystem starts to collapse. " Right now, sharks need us. An estimated 274,000 sharks are killed every single day. It's an ecocide taking place right now, and we must stop it." We previously told how Lennon's Scottish Ecocide Bill - set to be published this week - has also won the backing of Sir David Attenborough's acclaimed wildlife cameraman Doug Allan. Article continues below Lennon's proposals could see polluters and other perpetrators of severe environmental damage in Scotland punished by up to 20 years in jail.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh circles island in 'Jaws' campaign
An endurance swimmer has said "we must stop killing sharks" as he completed a 60-mile (96km) trek around the area where Jaws was Pugh, a conservationist from Plymouth, swam in stormy weather around the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, which was the main location for the Hollywood blockbuster released 50 years completed the swim as part of a campaign to protect sharks which he said had become threatened by commercial 55-year-old took 12 days to complete the challenge, which he said he hoped would "change the narrative" around sharks and highlight their importance to the seas. He said the film Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, had cast sharks as the ultimate underwater said: "The movie Jaws was so effective, it shaped the narrative for the past 50 years."The aim of the swim was to change the narrative for a new generation."We need to change the narrative. Sharks are not monsters. They're magnificent, they're essential."Spielberg himself previously said he "truly regrets" the decimation of the shark population following the success of the Oscar-winning film. 'Indifference' threat Pugh said sharks were apex predators who helped keep "oceans in balance", but claimed about 100 million were killed annually by the commercial fishing added there were other threats to the animals based on perceptions about said: "The main direct threat is from commercial fishing and we have to stop killing sharks."But I think there's another threat we have to work so hard to tackle, and that's indifference - it's the belief that sharks somehow don't matter, that the ocean without sharks is safer for all of us." Pugh said the swim left him physically and mentally exhausted and he had to battle against severe weather which hampered his is due to attend the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, next month to call for an end to killing sharks and the creation of effective marine protected areas across 30% of the world's seas by 2030, known as "30×30".He said the campaign would also focus on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) conference at the end of the year, saying a number of shark species needed to be listed for the highest level of protection.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Watch: Swimmer circumnavigates Martha's Vineyard for shark conservation
May 27 (UPI) -- An endurance swimmer spent 12 days swimming 59 miles around Martha's Vineyard, the filming location of the classic movie Jaws, to raise awareness for shark conservation. British-South African swimmer Lewis Pugh became the first swimmer to circumnavigate the Massachusetts island when he completed his swim on Monday. "It's been one of the toughest swims of my life. Cold water, relentless wind, big waves and the constant thought of what might be beneath me," Pugh wrote on social media. The swimmer chose Martha's Vineyard for his swim on the 50th anniversary of Jaws to push back against the common perception of sharks as undersea monsters. "For the past 50 years, it's all been about fear and about the danger of sharks. What I want to do is I want to try to change the narrative for a new generation and say sharks actually bring life, they sustain life, they make oceans healthy," Pugh told PBS News. Pugh said Jaws and the films that followed in its wake contributed to negative perceptions of the animals. "They portrayed sharks in a way that they are villains. They're out to get humans and we know that they are nothing of the sort. And so this is an opportunity to try and tell a new narrative for a new generation," he said.
UPI
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Watch: Swimmer circumnavigates Martha's Vineyard for shark conservation
May 27 (UPI) -- An endurance swimmer spent 12 days swimming 59 miles around Martha's Vineyard, the filming location of the classic movie Jaws, to raise awareness for shark conservation. British-South African swimmer Lewis Pugh became the first swimmer to circumnavigate the Massachusetts island when he completed his swim on Monday. "It's been one of the toughest swims of my life. Cold water, relentless wind, big waves and the constant thought of what might be beneath me," Pugh wrote on social media. The swimmer chose Martha's Vineyard for his swim on the 50th anniversary of Jaws to push back against the common perception of sharks as undersea monsters. "For the past 50 years, it's all been about fear and about the danger of sharks. What I want to do is I want to try to change the narrative for a new generation and say sharks actually bring life, they sustain life, they make oceans healthy," Pugh told PBS News. Pugh said Jaws and the films that followed in its wake contributed to negative perceptions of the animals. "They portrayed sharks in a way that they are villains. They're out to get humans and we know that they are nothing of the sort. And so this is an opportunity to try and tell a new narrative for a new generation," he said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Lewis Pugh warns we must protect sharks as he completes swim to mark Jaws' 50th
Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh said 'we must stop killing sharks' as he completed an 'exhausting' swim in the stormy waters where Jaws was filmed. The conservationist and UN patron of the oceans has launched a campaign to protect sharks, which are threatened by commercial fishing and what he describes as 'indifference' to the fate of an apex predator which helps keep the world's oceans in balance. The Plymouth-based swimmer has completed a 60-mile, 12-day swim around Martha's Vineyard, an island off the east coast of the US, where Jaws was filmed, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hollywood blockbuster. He said the swim was a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity' to change the narrative around sharks, which were cast as the ultimate underwater villains in Jaws, terrifying generations of film fans. 'The movie Jaws was so effective, it shaped the narrative for the past 50 years. 'The aim of the swim was to change the narrative for a new generation, we need to change the narrative,' said Mr Pugh. 'Sharks are not monsters, they're magnificent, they're essential.' Mr Pugh's fight to highlight the overfishing, climate and pollution threats to the oceans and seek greater protection for the world's seas has previously seen him take the water in places ranging from the South Atlantic to the English Channel, up to the Arctic and Greenland's Ilulissat glacier. He said he knew conditions on his most recent swim would be tough before he took to the water, because of really cold temperatures, the length of the swim and the presence of great white sharks in an area which is a 'hotspot' for the fish. But he said: 'What I hadn't anticipated was just such bad weather. 'We had a beautiful day on the day I started and the day I finished, and in between just really difficult stormy conditions, especially along the south side of the island, which is exposed to the North Atlantic.' He told the PA news agency that windy conditions, big waves, and currents meant that on two days of the swim he could only cover a mile. 'I'm physically exhausted and then, mentally, getting into the water every day… we didn't see any sharks but we knew that they were there. That's mentally exhausting,' he said, adding that he was happy to have safely completed the swim. He went on: 'I felt this was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tell a story about sharks to a global audience.' He said the numbers of sharks caught each year are 'truly shocking', with 100 million killed annually – an average of 174,000 a day worldwide. 'The main direct threat is from commercial fishing, and we have to stop killing sharks. 'But I think there's another threat we have to work so hard to tackle, and that's indifference, it's the belief that sharks somehow don't matter, that the ocean without sharks is safer for all of us. 'It's not, it's really not,' he said. 'They are apex predators, they keep our oceans in balance.' Sharks eat fish which graze on ocean vegetation – and the loss of the predators would lead to overgrazing of seagrass meadows and kelp forests which are key habitats for numerous ocean species and a major carbon store. Migratory sharks also cycle nutrients through marine ecosystems, and help store carbon at the bottom of the ocean through their faeces and when they die and their bodies sink to the seafloor. While the swim has been completed, the 'real hard graft' of work to protect sharks comes next. Mr Pugh will now head to the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, early next month, which will be attended by heads of state and environment ministers, to call for an end to killing sharks and action to create effective marine protected areas across 30% of the world's seas by 2030, known as '30×30'. And at the end of the year, the campaign will focus on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) conference, where he says a number of shark species need to be listed for the highest level of protection. Mr Pugh said protecting sharks is a 'global responsibility' that has to be done. 'When you kill all the sharks it leads to ecological collapse, it's that simple,' he warned.
