Speedo Diplomacy
The Ross Sea is located in the Southern Ocean below Australia and New Zealand, in a deep bay off the coast of Antarctica and is known to be one of the most pristine marine ecosystems on earth.
This article was originally written and published through Open Water Magazine, Issue 5.
To ensure that this ecosystem remains in this pristine state the Ross see was declared as the world’s largest Marine Protected Area(MPA) on the 28th of October 2016. The MPA was set up to protect what is said to be one of the most productive stretches of water in the Southern Ocean and home to a high concentration of wildlife and animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.
The announcement was made at the annual meeting for the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources(CCAMLR), where all parties voted unanimously to create the 1.57 million square kilometres MPA. This included the combined efforts of the EU and 24 other countries to come together to agree on the terms of the agreement, and resulted in years of negotiations with China and Russia to get the agreement across the line.
This is where Lewis Pugh comes in. Lewis is an maritime lawyer, endurance swimmer and the UN Patron of the Oceans. Two years ago he launched a campaign to help protect the Ross Sea with the crazy idea that he would perform a number of swims through the waters of the area to help highlight their importance.
During this time Lewis also found himself travelling to Russia and speaking with their leadership to encourage them to join with the other nations in the CCAMLR. Due to Russia’s fishing industry within the Ross Sea, negotiations had failed on five previous occasions. In the end the negotiations managed to get through with the compromise of the protection in the region expiring after 35 years.
Although the protection is set to expire in 35 years, it is the world’s largest and first marine park created in international waters. It will ensure that fewer younger fish will be caught with a “no-take” protection zone, where fishing will not be allowed. All of which has been achieved between Russia, China, US, EU and 22 other countries all agreeing upon this decision during a time in the world where political relations have been strained.
Lewis’ Antarctic Swims
Although Lewis had taken on Antarctic waters in 2005, he set out again in early 2015 on a series of Antarctic swims as part of his campaign to help bring awareness to protecting the area, with three of the swims in the Ross Sea.
- Campbell Island, Southern Ocean (52° South)
13 February 2015: (200m) : Swim aborted due to sea lion. Water temp 8°C - Cape Adare, Ross Sea, Antarctica (71° South)
19 February 2015: (540m) : 10 minutes. Water temp: minus 1.7°C. Air temp: minus 4°C - Cape Evans, Ross Sea, Antarctica (77.6° South)
22 February 2015: No swim due to wild winds - Bay of Whales, Ross Sea, Antarctica (78° 33’ 07” South)
25 February 2015: (330m) : 5 minutes. Water temp: minus 1°C. Air temperature: minus 11°C With wind chill: minus 37°C - Peter I Island, Bellinghausen Sea, (69° South)
5 March 2015: (560 m) : 11 minutes 11 seconds. Water temp: 0°C. Air temperature: 2°C
For more information go to the following link:
http://lewispugh.com/
