Jono Ridler has arrived in Wellington Harbour after completing a swim the length of the North Island, and is now making his way to Parliament to urge an end to bottom trawling.
The endurance swimmer reached Whairepo Lagoon at noon today, finishing the 1367km journey after more than three months in the water.
He will now meet Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka at Parliament this afternoon to deliver his call for an end to bottom trawling.
Ridler’s Swim4TheOcean campaign, aimed at raising awareness about ocean health and the impacts of bottom trawling, has gathered more than 60,000 signatures.
Beginning at Waikuku Beach near North Cape on January 5, Ridler swam the length of the North Island’s coastline and spent more than 460 hours in the water.
Organisers Live Ocean described Ridler’s effort as an “unprecedented feat” of endurance.
Speaking to supporters gathered at the Wellington waterfront, Ridler thanked those who had followed his journey, including his family, and said the level of public backing made the cause “impossible to ignore”.
“That’s always been the way throughout history. If you get people, you get change,” he said.
“We need to look after our beautiful country.”
Bottom trawling is a fishing method in which large, weighted nets are dragged across the seabed to catch fish, and has been considered by many as destructive due to its damaging impacts on marine ecosystems.