{"id":173216,"date":"2025-12-08T06:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T06:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/173216\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T06:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T06:11:09","slug":"on-the-up-nz-swimmer-jono-ridler-to-combine-sport-ocean-conservation-in-1609km-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/173216\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Up: NZ swimmer Jono Ridler to combine sport, ocean conservation in 1609km effort"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now he\u2019s set his sights<\/a> on something bigger. <\/p>\n

In January, the 35-year-old will embark on a record-setting attempt of an unassisted staged swim from North Cape to Wellington. <\/p>\n

As was the case with his 2023 effort, Ridler is using his effort for further purpose as he looks to draw attention to the health of New Zealand\u2019s oceans in partnership with Blair Tuke and Peter Burling\u2019s Live Ocean charity.<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cMy Hauraki Gulf swim showed me how endurance sport can bring real attention to ocean issues, and that people care,\u201d Ridler said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis next mission will push me to my limits. I\u2019ll be swimming around the clock, coming ashore only to rest and refuel. It will be incredibly challenging, but I feel strongly that we can and must do better to care for the ocean. That purpose will get me through the tough moments.\u201d <\/p>\n

The staged journey, named the Swim4TheOcean, is about 1609km down the east coast of the country. Ridler will spend about six hours in the water at a time, and take six-hour breaks to rest and refuel. The swim is expected to take roughly 90 days. <\/p>\n

Swimming unassisted means Ridler will wear togs rather than a wetsuit, but will be permitted to wear earplugs, goggles and a swim cap. <\/p>\n

The World Open Water Swimming Association and Marathon Swimmers Federation have told organisers they\u2019re not aware of any swims done anywhere in the world like this one. <\/p>\n

\u201cSport can be an amazing unifier, and Jono is putting himself on the line here. We want Kiwis to come around Swim4TheOcean and show their support for a healthy ocean,\u201d Live Ocean co-founder Blair Tuke said. <\/p>\n

\"JonoJono Ridler and Blair Tuke. Photo \/ Subzero Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Aotearoa, we\u2019re guardians of one of the world\u2019s most special ocean spaces. The ocean is the life support system of the planet, a food source and livelihood for many, and home to taonga species found nowhere else on the planet. There is no place for destructive practices in a healthy ocean.\u201d <\/p>\n

Specifically, Ridler\u2019s effort aims to bring awareness to the practice of bottom trawling,<\/a> a fishing method that involves dragging weighted nets across the ocean floor, which can damage habitats and include bycatch in its haul. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe back ourselves as leaders and innovators here in New Zealand,\u201d Live Ocean co-founder Peter Burling said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to find solutions that support our fishers to transition to practices that protect the seabed. We need to make bottom trawling part of our history, not our future.\u201d <\/p>\n

Christopher Reive<\/a> joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now he\u2019s set his sights on something bigger. In January, the 35-year-old will embark on a record-setting attempt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111658,1038,6636,48206,1389,3989,78,111656,111,43,139,69,11599,90,111657,2022,54978,223,61,810,379],"class_list":["post-173216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-1609km","tag-brings","tag-challenge","tag-combine","tag-conservation","tag-effort","tag-in","tag-jono","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-ocean","tag-on","tag-ridler","tag-sport","tag-swimmer","tag-the","tag-to","tag-up","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}