Lewis Pugh completes Red Sea swim in Seven Seas Campaign

Renowned endurance swimmer and United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Patron of the Oceans, Lewis Pugh has today completed the fifth leg of his Seven Swims in the Seven Seas for 1 Reason campaign to highlight the need for, and importance of Marine Protected Areas on the global agenda.Lewis completed his 10km swim off the coast of Aqaba in Jordan in 2 hrs and 57 mins (see attached picture).Immediately afterwards Lewis said: “I really enjoyed the swim. I was joined by about 20 young Jordanian swimmers, 5 of whom swam the whole way with me. We swam along the coast from Aqaba towards the Saudi border and through a Marine Protected Area. It was stark the difference between the MPA and the part which was not protected. In the protected area there was beautiful coral of all colours - red, pink, yellow, green and a gorgeous blue. And lots of tropical fish. In the non-protected areas there were bottles, cans and tyres lying on the seabed. We must see the whole world as a big national park, which we must protect for future generations. Otherwise the children I swam with today will soon live in a world devoid of beauty, which is simply unsustainable.”Follow Lewis’s progress via his website, www.lewispugh.com Twitter @LewisPugh #7Swims and Facebook – Lewis Pugh.For further information, interviews and pictures throughout Lewis’s journey please contact Louise Plank or Victoria Hartley-Wilson at Plank PR, +44(0)20 8995 3936.