Ocean Advocate: Lewis Pugh Swims In Antarctica To Raise Ocean Protection Awareness For Marine Life

The National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Lewis Pugh, swam in the coast of Antarctica to raise awareness on the need to protect the marine life. He hopes to draw attention to a new campaign to establish three marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2020.

Lewis Pugh conquered the Bellingshausen Sea by swimming a 1-kilometer route along this area of the Southern Ocean, which is named after the Russian explorer who discovered it in 1820. He swam there for 17 minutes and 30 seconds. On the other hand, Pugh said that it felt like 17 days. He further said that anyone who says they enjoy swimming in cold water has never really done it.

The 47-year old Lewis Pugh has extreme swimming skills. He is a long-distance swimmer known for his diving and swimming adventures in the world's iconic waters from the icy North Pole to a Himalayan glacial lake to the historical Red Sea.

Lewis Pugh described the water of Antarctica as a true garden of Eden. He has seen humpback whales, Gentoo, albatrosses, emperor penguins, chinstrap penguins, leopard seals, Weddell and crabeater seals. He said that the seas where they inhabit face tremendous pressure from climate change, pollution and overfishing.

Currently, Lewis Pugh is working with Pristine Seas, a National Geographic Society-sponsored effort to identify and protect wild oceans, to designate three more MPAs within the next three years. These additional MPAs will protect total land areas in Antarctica for approximately 4,345,000 square miles, according to National Geographic.

Lewis Pugh described the campaign as the most ambitious protection campaign in history, yet he is confident that they will get the MPAs in the three-year period. He added that this is an issue of justice between generations and humans must protect Antarctica for their children and grandchildren. He also stressed that it is also a matter of justice between species and people have no right to destroy their world and push these species to extinction.