Endurance swimmer is attempting first-ever swim around Martha’s Vineyard ahead of ‘Jaws’ anniversary

By LEAH WILLINGHAM VINEYARD HAVEN Mass AP Lewis Pugh has followed an unspoken rule during his career as one of the world s majority of daring endurance swimmers Don t talk about sharks But he plans to break that this week on a swim around Martha s Vineyard where Jaws was filmed years ago Related Articles Cannes the global Colosseum of film readies for th edition with new challenges on the horizon Summer movies breakout actors to watch Trump threatens a tariff on foreign-made films saying the movie industry in the US is dying The F group on adapting a few of the spirit of Top Gun to Formula One film with Brad Pitt Key things to know about the upcoming summer movie season The British-South African was the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world and has taken on extreme conditions everywhere from Mount Everest to the Arctic On this swim it s very different We re just talking about sharks all the time joked Pugh who will as usual wear no wetsuit For his swim around Martha s Vineyard in -degree water he will wear just trunks a cap and goggles Pugh is undertaking the challenge because he wants to change citizens perception around the now at-risk animals which he noted were maligned by the blockbuster film as villains as cold-blooded killers He will urge for more protection for sharks On Thursday beginning at the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse he will swim for three or four hours in the brutally cold surf mark his progress and spend the rest of his waking hours on the Vineyard educating the population about sharks Then he ll get in the water and do it again and again for an estimated days or however long it takes him to complete the -mile swim He begins the journey just after the New England Aquarium established the first white shark sighting of the season earlier this week off the coast of Nantucket It s going to test me not only physically but also mentally he commented while scoping out wind conditions by the starting line I mean every single day I m going to be speaking about sharks sharks sharks sharks Then ultimately I ve got to get in the water afterwards and do the swim I suppose you can imagine what I ll be thinking about A world without predators Pugh announced the swim will be among the largest part challenging he s undertaken which says a lot for someone who has swum near glaciers and volcanoes and among hippos crocodiles and polar bears No one has ever swum around the island of Martha s Vineyard before Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh gestures to where he will begin his swim around Martha s Vineyard island which is expected to take days near the Edgartown Lighthouse Monday May in Edgartown Mass AP Photo Charles Krupa But Pugh who often swims to raise awareness for environmental causes and has been named the United Nations Patron of the Oceans for several years revealed no swim is without pitfall and that drastic measures are needed to get his message across Around sharks are killed globally each day a rate of million every year according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science It was a film about sharks attacking humans and for years we have been attacking sharks he announced of Jaws It s wholly unsustainable It s madness We need to respect them He emphasizes that the swim is not something nonprofessionals should attempt He s accompanied by safety personnel in a boat and kayak and uses a Shark Shield device that deters sharks using an electric field without harming them Pugh remembers feeling fear as a -year-old watching Jaws for the first time Over decades of investigation and research awe and respect have replaced his fear as he realized the role they play in maintaining Earth s increasingly fragile ecosystems I m more terrified of a world without sharks or without predators he commented The Jaws effect on sharks Jaws is credited for creating Hollywood s blockbuster custom when it was published in summer becoming the highest grossing film up until that time and earning three Academy Awards It would impact how numerous viewed the ocean for decades to come A shopper walks past items featuring the Jaws movie at Neptune s Sea Chest gift shop Monday May in Vineyard Haven Mass on Martha s Vineyard Island AP Photo Charles Krupa Both director Steven Spielberg and author Peter Benchley have expressed regret over the impact of the film on viewers perception of sharks Both have since contributed to conservation efforts for animals which have seen populations depleted due to factors like overfishing and circumstances change Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel each year release initiatives about sharks to educate the inhabitants about the predator Greg Skomal marine fisheries biologist at Martha s Vineyard Fisheries within the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries noted multiple people tell him they still won t swim in the ocean because of the sheer terror caused by the film I tend to hear the expression that I haven t gone in the water since Jaws came out he mentioned But Skomal who published a book challenging the film s inaccuracies explained Jaws also inspired a large number of people including him to examination marine biology leading to increased research acceptance and respect for the creatures If Jaws were made in the current era he doesn t think it d have the same effect But in the s it was just perfect in terms of generating this level of fear to a population that was largely uneducated about sharks because we were uneducated Scientists didn t know a lot about sharks A man navigates the wake behind the Martha s Vineyard Ferry Monday May in Vineyard Haven Mass AP Photo Charles Krupa Skomal declared the biggest threat contributing to the decline of the shark population now is commercial fishing which exploded in the late s and is this day driven by high demand for fins and meat used in food dishes as well as the use of skin to make leather and oil and cartilage for cosmetics I think we ve really moved away from this feeling or the old adage that The only good shark is a dead shark he reported We re definitely morphing from fear to fascination or perhaps a combination of both See an AP photo gallery from around Martha s Vineyard and the start of Pugh s swim here