Jono Ridler plans 1600km North Cape to Wellington swim to end bottom trawling

Auckland ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler will swim from North Cape to Wellington to raise awareness of destructive bottom trawling. Photo / Gareth Cooke

Ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler is gearing up for an unprecedented 1600km ocean swim from North Cape to Wellington in a bid to end destructive bottom trawling and shine a light on ocean health.

Called Swim4TheOcean, the mission will see Ridler attempt to swim the entire east coast of the North Island in long rotating shifts, day and night, over roughly 90 days.

The 35-year-old, from Auckland, will start the epic swim on January 5, weather permitting, and will hug the eastern coastline of the North Island until he gets to the capital around April.

“Every week over the course of 12 weeks I’ll need to clock up about 150kms.

“I’ll be swimming up to 30km a day to meet that.

“It’s a huge undertaking.

“The last couple of weeks it’s been a pretty emotional journey, mentally preparing myself for what’s to come.

“I feel ready, but unsettled, it’s like my body is preparing for something big that’s going to happen.”

Ridler is best known for his 33-hour nonstop, 99km swim from Great Barrier to Auckland in 2023 - the longest ever in New Zealand.

He was also the first person to swim from Matapouri to the Poor Knights Islands and back in 2022.

He completed the 45km feat off the Tutukākā coast in 13 hours and 20 minutes.

Ridler came up with the latest idea in 2023, inspired by international staged swims, such as Lewis Pugh who swam the length of the English Channel in 2018.

If successful, Ridler’s swim will be the longest unassisted staged swim in history.

Jono Ridler is best known for his 99km swim from Great Barrier to Auckland in 2023 - the longest ever in New Zealand.

He said he was also inspired to get New Zealand to transition away from bottom trawling on seamounts and other vital marine ecosystems.

“I wanted to do something similar, not just a swimming challenge, but use that as a platform to do something meaningful, and get people interested in the story around the ocean and bottom trawling.”

Bottom trawling is a destructive fishing method where heavy, weighted nets are dragged across the ocean floor, damaging habitats like coral reefs and seamounts.

Ridler will be swimming around the clock, coming ashore only to rest and refuel.

His team of six helpers include four people in two boats focussed on safety and two people in two vehicles on land.

“My Hauraki Gulf swim showed me how endurance sport can bring real attention to ocean issues, and that people care,” Ridler said.

“This next mission will push me to my limits.

“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.”

Ridler is partnering with Live Ocean, the marine conservation charity founded by champion sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.

Jono Ridler and Blair Tuke are both passionate about keeping the ocean healthy. Photo / Gareth Cooke.

Burling said it was time to find solutions that support our fishers to transition to practices that protect the seabed.

“We back ourselves as leaders and innovators here in New Zealand,” he said.

“We need to make bottom trawling part of our history, not our future.”

Tuke said New Zealanders had a special connection to the moana and a responsibility to look after it.

“Sport 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.”

More than 120 rest stops (between swim shifts), and six community stopovers are planned along the route, giving coastal towns the chance to welcome Ridler ashore and show their support.

Follow his mission at Swim4TheOcean.org and on Live Ocean’s channels @itsliveocean.

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.