SA swimmer makes splash in battle against plastic pollution with record feat
SOUTH African endurance swimmer Sarah Ferguson has set a new world record for becoming the first person to swim around the entire perimeter of Easter Island.
She did it as part of Swim Against Plastic, a global campaign to help curb plastic pollution.
Global non-profits Plastic Oceans International and Breathe Conservation, dedicated to solving the plastic pollution problem, announced that Ferguson achieved the world-record swim around Easter Island on Saturday.
She swam 63.5km, continuously over a period of 19 hours and eight minutes, finishing ahead of schedule in a swim expected to take about 24 hours.
Ferguson said: “It’s an incredibly special moment for my team and me right now. To have pioneered a swim like this is still something I am wrapping my head around.
“To have succeeded in doing something no one else has done is both humbling and amazingly exciting.
“I hope that just as I swam around Easter Island, one stroke at a time, people choose to make one small decision at a time around single-use plastic to help preserve this beautiful blue ocean of ours.”
The goal of Swim Against Plastic is to encourage people to rethink their habits toward single-use, or throwaway plastic, and empower them to change and become part of the solution.
Ferguson swam through dangerous currents in very high-salt-content water, facing many serious risks, to accomplish this human first.
She trained extensively and arrived on Easter Island from South Africa on March 11.
The island was chosen for Swim Against Plastic because the surrounding waters contain one of the highest concentrations of microplastics in the Pacific Ocean, despite its remote location.
The Chilean territory is considered the most remote inhabited island on the planet, more than 3 200km from the Chilean coast
Most microplastics on Easter Island originate from sources thousands of kilometres away.
An additional 20 tons of trash is produced daily on the island, which has prevalent waste management issues, especially related to the exponentially growing tourism industry and increasing population.
Plastic Oceans International global executive director Julie Andersen said: “We couldn’t be prouder of Plastic Oceans ambassador Sarah Ferguson for her leadership and commitment to bring attention to the planet’s plastic pollution problem with her stunning first time, world-record swim.
“Plastic pollution threatens the ocean, our food sources and the environment.
“Easter Island is an example of how even the world’s most remote, iconic and protected locations are not immune to the problem.
“We encourage people to rethink their habits… and to become part of the solution.”