In 2017, Lewis Pugh swam 1 km at South Georgia to campaign for protection. 7 years later, protected waters had grown from 2% to 36%, adding 166,000 km² of ocean in total

In November 2017, endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh completed a 1-kilometer swim in the waters off South Georgia. The swim was part of his campaign to push for greater protection of the waters around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.

At the time, only 2% of the waters around the islands were fully protected, according to the Lewis Pugh Foundation. Seven years later, protection had reached 36%. In February 2024, the government increased the protected area by a further 166,000 square kilometers.

Lewis Pugh's 1-kilometer swim in 2017

Pugh completed the swim on November 7, 2017, travelling from King Edward Point at Grytviken to a beach near a disused whaling station, as per a Lewis Pugh Foundation report.


The United Nations Environment Programme described Pugh as the first person to complete a long-distance 1-kilometer swim in the waters off South Georgia. UNEP said the swim was intended to urge leaders to grant full environmental protection to the Scotia Sea surrounding South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, as per an UNEP report.

The Lewis Pugh Foundation said that when he undertook the swim, only 2% of the waters around the biodiversity hotspots were fully protected. It also described the surrounding area as an important wildlife haven, home to species including Antarctic fur seals, southern elephant seals, whales, and large penguin colonies.

Protection rose from 2% to 23%

The first major increase in protection came just over a year after Pugh's swim.

According to the Lewis Pugh Foundation, the British government increased full protection in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands from 2% to 23% after persistent pressure.

The protection level later increased again. In February 2024, the government announced plans to add another 166,000 square kilometers to the area's No Take Zones.

The government said the expansion would increase the area covered by No Take Zones from 283,000 square kilometers to 449,000 square kilometers. That meant 36% of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Maritime Zone would be closed to fishing activity, as per the South Georgia Gov report.

Another 166,000 km² of ocean added

The 2024 announcement described the additional 166,000 square kilometers as an area eight times the size of Wales. The new No Take Zones covered highly biodiverse marine habitat and prohibited fishing in those areas.

The government also announced an additional 17,000 square kilometers that would be closed to krill fishing through new pelagic closed areas.

The changes followed the conclusion of the second five-yearly review of the 1.24-million-square-kilometer Marine Protected Area, which was established in 2012. The government said an independent panel found that the Marine Protected Area was meeting its intended objectives.

The review involved different stakeholder groups, while scientific research and monitoring had also expanded. The government said more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers relating to the Marine Protected Area had been published since its previous review.

A seven-year conservation timeline

The numbers show a gradual expansion rather than a single jump from 2% to 36%.

In 2017, Pugh swam 1 kilometer off South Georgia when only 2% of the surrounding waters were fully protected. Just over a year later, the level of full protection increased to 23%.

Then, in February 2024, the government announced another 166,000 square kilometers of No Take Zones, taking the level of protection to 36%.

The sequence does not establish that Pugh's swim alone caused the later expansion. His swim was part of a campaign calling for greater protection, while the 2024 expansion followed a formal five-year review of the Marine Protected Area.

Seven years after Pugh entered the waters off South Georgia, the area covered by full fishing restrictions had therefore grown substantially, with an additional 166,000 square kilometers added to the No Take Zones in the 2024 expansion.