Finding of the week #103

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Five Swims in Antarctica

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about the Five Swims expedition of Lewis Pugh to raise global attention for the Ross Sea.

A couple of weeks ago, I read an inspiring tweet from Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh):

After reading a few more of his tweets, I found out that he is currently on an expedition to do five swims in freezing Antartic waters merely wearing a Speedo swimming costume. At this point, he really got my attention and I visited his website (lewispugh.com) in order to learn more about his expedition and his goals.


The goal for these ambitious five 1km swims in sub-zero waters is to gain global support for the Ross Sea to become a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Ross Sea is one of the most prestine marine ecosystems on Earth and also represents one of the last marine ecosystems in a near-natural state. However, this status is endangered as fishermen are now targeting the Antarctic toothfish. After only a few years of fishing, the toothfish population is reduced by a significant degree. This in return has a strong effect on the whole ecosystem of the Ross Sea. Humans have already caused severe damage to the ecosystem during the early 1900s as Blue Whales were hunted and now they are about to endanger the next species.

An MPA would protect this special marine ecosystem as it would limit the human interference. A Marine Protected Area is a geographically defined area that is protected for a conservation purpose. Unfortunately, the Ross Sea is not such an MPA. However, there is a proposal for a Ross Sea MPA with a size of 1.34 million km2, but the motion to establish it has been held up by a lack of consensus of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

Now, Lewis Pugh, United Nations Patron of the Oceans, likes to raise the attention to bring forth the establishment of a Ross Sea MPA by doing five swims in the freezing Antartic waters. He likes us to urge the CCAMLR nations to declare the Ross Sea as an MPA.

A great project. We all should work together to protect the nature instead of finding new ways to exploit it.