This man is swimming in the shark-filled waters from Jaws to make a point

Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio

· Posted: May 20, 2025 5:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 20

Ever since helium archetypal saw Jaws erstwhile helium was 16 years old, endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh has been a small acrophobic of sharks.

But he's not letting that halt him from swimming 100 kilometres astir the land of Martha's Vineyard successful Massachusetts, the precise determination the iconic fearfulness movie was filmed 50 years ago, and a blistery spot for large whites.

He's doing it, helium says, to advocator for greater protections for sharks, whose numbers are dwindling worldwide.

"Yes, I person been frightened [by sharks]. But I'm overmuch much terrified of a satellite without sharks,"  Pugh told As It Happens impermanent big Dave Seglins. 

"A satellite without sharks is an water without life."

The enduring bequest of Jaws

Steven Spielberg's Jaws hit theatres successful 1975, introducing terrified audiences to a massive, people-eating large achromatic shark that terrorizes a summertime edifice town. 

"It portrayed sharks arsenic cold-blooded villains retired to termination humans, and we cognize that they are nary of the sort," Pugh said. "This is an accidental present to alteration the communicative for a caller generation."

The blockbuster rapidly became the highest grossing movie up until that time, and it would spell connected to interaction however galore viewed the water for decades to come.

Both Spielberg and Peter Benchley, who authored the publication upon which the movie was based, person expressed regret astir however Jaws skewed the nationalist cognition of sharks. Both person since contributed to conservation efforts.

"I thin to perceive the look that, 'I haven't gone successful the h2o since Jaws came out,'" said Greg Skomal, a marine biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, who published a publication challenging the film's inaccuracies.

"It was conscionable cleanable successful presumption of generating this level of fearfulness to a nationalist that was mostly uneducated astir sharks, due to the fact that we were uneducated. Scientists didn't cognize a batch astir sharks."

On the different hand, helium says Jaws besides inspired generations of radical — himself included — to survey marine biology. 

Because of that, helium says, we cognize a batch much than we did 50 years ago. 

People termination much sharks than sharks termination people

One of the things we present cognize is that radical are a greater menace to sharks than sharks are to people. 

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File, determination were 47 unprovoked shark attacks in the U.S. successful 2024. Four were fatal.

The depository says an American is acold much apt to dice from fireworks, accidental poisoning, oregon being deed by lightning than from a shark bite. 

By contrast, determination are more than 100 cardinal fishing-related shark deaths globally every year, according to a survey published successful online diary Science past year. 

"The fig is perfectly astonishing and frightening," Pugh said. "It's a madness. It is an ecocide."

Shark populations person dropped 71 per cent since 1970, including respective at-risk species, fuelled partially by clime change, but mostly by commercialized sportfishing that either targets sharks directly, oregon unintentionally reels them successful arsenic bycatch. 

That's dangerous, says Pugh, due to the fact that sharks person an important relation to play successful their ecosystems, particularly the apex predators similar large whites.

"Predators are indispensable for a steadfast water due to the fact that they support the water successful balance," helium said. 

Why Martha's Vineyard is specified a challenging swim

Pugh, a British-South African endurance swimmer, is nary alien to a challenge.

He was the archetypal idiosyncratic to implicit a long-distance aquatics successful each water of the satellite — and has taken connected utmost conditions, including erstwhile helium swam beneath an Antarctic crystal expanse successful 2020 to rise consciousness astir clime change.

Still, helium says Martha's Vineyard volition beryllium 1 of his astir hard tasks yet.

For one, it's a agelong journey, and 1 that cipher has ever completed before. He started May 15 and expects it volition instrumentality astatine slightest 12 days to complete, astatine astir 10 kilometres a day. In betwixt swims, helium educates beachgoers about shark conservation. People tin travel his advancement online. 

What's more, he's surrounded by large achromatic sharks, which are prevalent successful those waters this clip of the twelvemonth arsenic they marque their migration north. He'll person a vessel and a kayak adjacent him keeping ticker to forestall any negative shark encounters. 

And finally, the waters are a brisk 8 C, and Pugh, arsenic helium accustomed does, volition shirk a bedewed suit for a elemental brace of aquatics trunks.

"The crushed is simple. I'm urging satellite leaders to truly marque the pugnacious decisions, which we request to instrumentality present to support the environment," helium said. "Swimming successful a bedewed suit oregon swimming successful a adust suit wouldn't nonstop the close message. We present request to beryllium courageous."

For him, it's profoundly personal.

"I person spent 40 years successful the oceans, and person seen them alteration drastically. And 1 of the biggest changes has been the nonaccomplishment of biodiversity," helium said.

"And it's very, precise wide to maine that sharks are perfectly indispensable for a steadfast ocean."