Endurance swimmer Jono Ridler has embarked on a 1,000-mile world-record attempt to swim the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island unassisted – a major feat that carried with it one clear call to the country’s lawmakers to end bottom trawling in New Zealand waters.

Launched this week from Waikuku, North Cape, the campaign – aptly titled Swim4TheOcean – is delivered in partnership with marine conservation charity Live Ocean. Ridler’s route will trace the entire east coast of the North Island, a journey expected to take around 90 days.

With every stroke southward, he is carrying a clear message to decision makers in Wellington: it’s time to end bottom trawling.

The campaign is being shared with the public in real time via a live tracker on Swim4TheOcean.org, which displays Ridler’s location, pace, progress and the conditions he faces at sea. His schedule will involve long, rotating swim shifts, carefully timed to work with the tides. For the first few days he will swim during daylight hours, before transitioning to day-and-night swimming. On day one, he completed just over three hours in the water, covering 9.2 kilometres.

Ridler was waved off at Waikuku by mana whenua, with Ngāti Kuri representatives gathering to acknowledge the beginning of his record attempt. Family and supporters were also present, including Ridler’s parents and Blair Tuke, an Olympic sailor and co-founder of Live Ocean.

Conditions on the opening day offered an early test. A 15-knot easterly breeze, a swell of around 1.5 metres and surface chop challenged both swimmer and support crew. Both the tide and current will be decisive factors throughout the journey; at North Cape, the flow was running across Ridler’s southbound route and did not significantly hinder his progress.

“There’ll be ups, there’ll be downs, there’ll be challenges, there’ll be euphoria. It really will be a crazy adventure for the next 90 days. I feel nervous and excited at the same time – I’m keen to get going, to stop thinking and to start doing,” Ridler said before setting out.

“It comes back to why we’re doing this… it’s about igniting New Zealanders around the race for a healthy ocean. If you’d like to support this, put your name to the call to end bottom trawling on swim4theocean.org. You can also leave a message for me that will help to power me through when things get tough.”

Tuke, who was on the beach for the send-off, has underscored the scale and significance of the undertaking: “There’s an incredible journey ahead of Jono, and he’s taking such a powerful message with him – for the end of bottom trawling,” he said. “I really hope that New Zealanders get behind him and wish him well and join that journey with us.”

Behind the scenes, even reaching the start line was a logistical challenge. On-water support craft, including the Swim4TheOcean StabiX and an IRB, launched south of Waikuku and motored north, while the shore-based team travelled by vehicle as far as possible before transferring to side-by-side buggies for the final kilometres.

The term ‘unassisted’ carries particular weight in the context of Ridler’s world-record attempt. As defined by the Marathon Swimmers Federation, it means swimming without a wetsuit. At the end of each swim leg, Ridler will either walk ashore or be transferred by support boat to the nearest land access point to eat and sleep, before returning to the water. Every exit and re-entry is logged by GPS and becomes the starting point for the next stage. Weather and sea conditions are expected to enforce rest days along the way.

Ridler is best known for his 33-hour, non-stop 99-kilometre swim from Aotea Great Barrier to Auckland in 2023 – the longest swim ever completed in New Zealand. This latest effort pushes even further, using human endurance as a platform to spotlight ocean health.

Founded by champion sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, Live Ocean is partnering with Ridler to amplify the campaign’s conservation message. As he progresses south, more than 120 rest stops and six community stopovers are planned, giving coastal towns the opportunity to welcome him ashore and show support for a future free from destructive fishing practices.

The primary call is clear: a rapid transition away from bottom trawling, beginning with an end to bottom trawling on seamounts and other vital marine ecosystems.

Those wishing to follow the journey – or add their name to the call for action – can do so at Swim4TheOcean.org and via Live Ocean’s channels, @itsliveocean.

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