This man is swimming in the shark-filled waters from Jaws to make a point

As It Happens6:31Why this environmentalist is swimming in the shark-filled waters from Jaws

Ever since he first saw Jaws when he was 16 years old, endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh has been a little afraid of sharks.

But he's not letting that stop him from swimming 100 kilometres around the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, the very location the iconic horror movie was filmed 50 years ago, and a hot spot for great whites.

He's doing it, he says, to advocate for greater protections for sharks, whose numbers are dwindling worldwide.

"Yes, I have been frightened [by sharks]. But I'm much more terrified of a world without sharks,"  Pugh told As It Happens guest host Dave Seglins. 

"A world without sharks is an ocean without life."

The enduring legacy of Jaws

Steven Spielberg's Jaws hit theatres in 1975, introducing terrified audiences to a massive, people-eating great white shark that terrorizes a summer resort town. 

"It portrayed sharks as cold-blooded villains out to kill humans, and we know that they are none of the sort," Pugh said. "This is an opportunity now to change the narrative for a new generation."

The blockbuster quickly became the highest grossing film up until that time, and it would go on to impact how many viewed the ocean for decades to come.

Both Spielberg and Peter Benchley, who authored the book upon which the film was based, have expressed regret about how Jaws skewed the public perception of sharks. Both have since contributed to conservation efforts.

"I tend to hear the expression that, 'I haven't gone in the water since Jaws came out,'" said Greg Skomal, a marine biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, who published a book challenging the film's inaccuracies.

"It was just perfect in terms of generating this level of fear to a public that was largely uneducated about sharks, because we were uneducated. Scientists didn't know a lot about sharks."

On the other hand, he says Jaws also inspired generations of people — himself included — to study marine biology. 

Because of that, he says, we know a lot more than we did 50 years ago. 

People kill more sharks than sharks kill people

One of the things we now know is that people are a greater threat to sharks than sharks are to people. 

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File, there were 47 unprovoked shark attacks in the U.S. in 2024. Four were fatal.

The museum says an American is far more likely to die from fireworks, accidental poisoning, or being hit by lightning than from a shark bite. 

By contrast, there are more than 100 million fishing-related shark deaths globally every year, according to a study published in online journal Science last year. 

"The number is absolutely astonishing and frightening," Pugh said. "It's a madness. It is an ecocide."

Shark populations have dropped 71 per cent since 1970, including several at-risk species, fuelled partly by climate change, but mostly by commercial fishing that either targets sharks directly, or unintentionally reels them in as bycatch. 

That's dangerous, says Pugh, because sharks have an important role to play in their ecosystems, especially the apex predators like great whites.

"Predators are essential for a healthy ocean because they keep the ocean in balance," he said. 

Why Martha's Vineyard is such a challenging swim

Pugh, a British-South African endurance swimmer, is no stranger to a challenge.

He was the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world — and has taken on extreme conditions, including when he swam beneath an Antarctic ice sheet in 2020 to raise awareness about climate change.

Still, he says Martha's Vineyard will be one of his most difficult tasks yet.

For one, it's a long journey, and one that nobody has ever completed before. He started May 15 and expects it will take at least 12 days to complete, at roughly 10 kilometres a day. In between swims, he educates beachgoers about shark conservation. People can follow his progress online. 

What's more, he's surrounded by great white sharks, which are prevalent in those waters this time of the year as they make their migration north. He'll have a boat and a kayak nearby him keeping watch to prevent any negative shark encounters. 

And finally, the waters are a brisk 8 C, and Pugh, as he usual does, will shirk a wet suit for a simple pair of swim trunks.

"The reason is simple. I'm urging world leaders to really make the tough decisions, which we need to take now to protect the environment," he said. "Swimming in a wet suit or swimming in a dry suit wouldn't send the right message. We now need to be courageous."

For him, it's deeply personal.

"I have spent 40 years in the oceans, and have seen them change drastically. And one of the biggest changes has been the loss of biodiversity," he said.

"And it's very, very clear to me that sharks are absolutely essential for a healthy ocean."