Fifty years after “Jaws” portrayed great white sharks as monsters, an endurance swimmer is trying to flip that fearful narrative for a new generation.
Lewis Pugh has started swimming around Martha’s Vineyard, where “Jaws” was filmed, as white sharks return to the region to feast on seals.
Pugh in his 60-mile swim is trying to raise awareness about the slaughter of sharks worldwide, and its effect on ocean ecosystems.
“I’m frightened of sharks,” said Pugh, a long distance swimmer who’s also the United Nations Environment Programme Patron of the Oceans. “But I’m more terrified of a world without them, and that’s what we’re looking at if we don’t act now.
“Without sharks to keep them in balance, marine ecosystems are unraveling at frightening speed,” Pugh added. “We need a new narrative about these magnificent animals because the one we’ve been hearing for the past 50 years threatens our oceans.”
He plans to swim until May 26, and try to become the first person to swim 60 miles around Martha’s Vineyard. Pugh expects to swim about 6.2 miles each day.
Since 1970, shark populations have dropped by about 70% worldwide through overfishing and habitat destruction, the Lewis Pugh Foundation noted.
Each year, an estimated 100 million sharks are killed for their fins, meat, oil, and sport. This leads to species loss and ecological collapse, with devastating consequences for ocean health and global food security, according to the foundation.
“Sharks are integral to ocean health, and ocean health is integral to human survival,” Pugh said. “This is not just about future generations. We must learn to respect and protect sharks today, and this will be my key message.”
He noted that Massachusetts recently took efforts to protect white sharks from on-shore fishing. But this is not the case worldwide, where white sharks are under increased threat.
“When we damage the environment, we create conditions that are ripe for conflict,” Pugh said. “But when we protect the environment, we foster peace. For centuries we have not only been fighting over the environment, we have been fighting against it. We must learn to make peace with nature for the sake of future generations.”
As an endurance swimmer, Pugh has pioneered swims in some of the most vulnerable ecosystems on earth to campaign for their protection. Most recently in 2023, he swam the 315-mile Hudson River to praise its clean-up and highlight how rivers affect ocean health.