Ultra-marathon open-water swimmer Jono Ridler has completed his record-breaking odyssey down the east coast of the North Island, calling New Zealanders to unite against bottom trawling, and been met by crowds of supporters.
Ridler began the almost 1400 kilometre slog in North Cape 90 days ago, on 5 January, and finished on Saturday afternoon at Whairepo Lagoon, on the Wellington waterfront.
The swim sets a new world record for the longest unassisted staged swim – wearing only togs, goggles and a swim cap, but no wetsuit.
Ridler partnered with marine conservation group LiveOcean, launching a petition against bottom trawling fishing, which has now been signed by more than 66,000 people.Minister defends bottom trawling, despite poll showing most NZers want it banned
His swim included swarms of jellyfish, battling sunburn, and more than 120 stops between his swimming shifts for rests and community stopovers to raise awareness.
Ridler enters Whairepo Lagoon in Wellington, with crowds lining the way. Photo: RNZ/ Anya Fielding
Met by cheers from supporters at the waterfront as he strode up onto land, Ridler then prepared to walk to Parliament, to emphasise the calls for change directed at the government.
Finishing the journey was “an amazing day”, he told RNZ: “Just seeing everybody out on the boardwalk, all of the boats out today, the welcome coming into the lagoon here.
“It’s an incredible end to what has been an incredible adventure, and I’m still kind of pinching myself a little bit with some of the moments that I’ve been able to experience today.”
The swim had been “really, really hard at times”, he said, and he was glad it was done, but it had been a special time as well.
“I think it takes a big ambition,” Ridler said of the project: “It takes some really good people to get behind you and support you”.
New Zealand stood out for allowing bottom trawling, Ridler said.
“[It’s] a destructive and indiscriminate method of fishing. We are currently the only country that is bottom trawling in the high seas of the South Pacific, which isn’t a good title to hold.
The campaign calls on the government to make changes, and “a quick transition away from bottom trawling, with the first priority being an end to bottom trawling on seamounts and other vital marine ecosystems”.
Ridler taking his first steps out of the water, to cheers from supporters. Photo: RNZ/ Anya Fielding
“We also bottom trawl on seamounts out in the deep sea. These are very fragile ecosystems and they take centuries to be able to recover. So people should care about it if they care about ocean health generally,” he said.
“And we’ve got 65,000 voices that agree with that and that have come behind us and signed our petition… We want to grow that as much as possible and change the way in which we take wild fish from the ocean. “
Bottom trawling was “a very entrenched practice in New Zealand fishing, but shutting it down was doable, Ridler said.
“And I think on the other side of that, we’ll have a healthier ocean for it.”
Ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler, arriving in Wellington on 4 April, 2026, after swimming almost 1400km on the east coast of the North Island from North Cape to campaign against bottom-trawling fishing. Photo: RNZ/ Anya Fielding
Live Ocean founder Blair Tuke earlier told RNZ the feat, and Ridler’s dedication pushing himself to the limit, had resonated with New Zealanders, and the support for the project and the petition had been amazing.
The team planned to continue gathering signatures on the petition, and to present it to the government at the end of April.
-RNZ
