Lewis Pugh Completes Martha’s Vineyard ‘Shark Swim’ Circumnavigation
British swimmer Lewis Pugh on Monday competed the first of its kind “Shark Swim” around Martha’s Vineyard. The swim, timed to the 50th anniversary of the release of the blockbuster Jaws, was planned to raise awareness of shark conservation.
Pugh completed the swim in 12 days, covering 59 miles. The renowned British open-water endurance swimmer called it, “one of the toughest swims of my life.”
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.… pic.twitter.com/xIqDUrrQwQ
— Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh) May 26, 2025
The 55-year-old swam for roughly 24 in stages over 12 days. He covered some 60 miles (90 kilometers), an average of 6.2 miles a day, though conditions limited his progress on certain days.
“It’s been a long journey, it really has — 12 days, cold water, constant wind, waves, and then always thinking of what may be beneath me,” Pugh told the Associated Press. “It’s been a big swim. A very big swim. When you swim for 12 days, you leave as one person and I think you come back as a different person with a new reflection on what you’ve been through.”
Pugh, a native of Plymouth, is known for his environmentally minded swimming feats in what he calls “speedo diplomacy.” He swam across a glacial lake on Mount Everest in 2010 to draw attention to climate change and was named the United Nations’ first Patron of the Oceans in 2013. His swimming exploits include crossing the English Channel and becoming the first person to swim across the Red Sea.
He is an adjunct professor in international law at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and he established a charitable foundation in his name for the protection of the oceans.
Pugh undertook the swim to raise awareness of humans’ impact on global shark populations, with 100 million sharks killed ever year. That averages out to 274,000 killed per day. He tied the swim to the anniversary of Jaws, the 1975 move which he says helped ingrain the negative perceptions of sharks as man-eaters that continues to this day. He ended his swim at the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, site of filming for Jaws.
“We’ve been fighting sharks for 50 years,” he said. “Now, we need to make peace with them.”