Record-breaking swim for our ocean!
Swim4TheOcean: Jono Ridler swims the final leg into Whairepo Lagoon on Wellington’s waterfront, 4 April 2026, photographed by Joe Lawry.
Exactly 90 days swimming the entire length of the east coast of Te Ika-a-Māui the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. 468 hours of swim time. 1,367 km covered. Over 82,000 signatures as of today – and climbing. These are just some of the incredible numbers associated with this mission of epic proportions; all to raise awareness for the critical need to protect our precious marine ecosystems.
A record-breaking effort
Ultra marathon swimmer and ocean champion Jon Ridler has completed an extraordinary, record-breaking three-month long swim from Waikuku Beach at North Cape, right at the top of the North Island, to Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. Swim4TheOcean shines a light on the urgent need to protect and safeguard our fragile marine ecosystems and end bottom trawling.
Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation and TMNZ believe in investing in the future of Aotearoa, and in protecting the health of our ocean. We're incredibly proud to back Swim4TheOcean and marine conservation charity Live Ocean.
Swim4TheOcean: Jono Ridler at Wellington’s waterfront, 4 April 2026, photographed by Joshua McCormack.
A cause to connect with
TMNZ Founder Ian Kuperus, TMNZ CEO Matt Edwards, and CEO of Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation Carl Vink all gathered in Wellington on Saturday 4 April 2026, to witness Jono complete the final leg of this incredible swim.
Coming out of the water at Whairepo Lagoon at Wellington’s waterfront, the ultra-distance swimmer was welcomed ashore by Te Āti Awa mana whenua and a large crowd.
TMNZ CEO Matt Edwards commented, “This is truly mind-blowing. The feat of human endurance, the scale of everything that Jono and the Swim4TheOcean team have achieved, is an extraordinary feat of human endurance at a remarkable scale - and it’s moving to witness. To see Jono push himself to such limits for a cause so many people connect with - ending bottom trawling - is incredibly powerful. I think it reminds us that we need to look forward and do much better for our oceans. Bottom trawling is in our past, in our history, and has no place in our future.”
This swim is expected to be ratified as the longest unassisted staged swim, ever. It ranks among the toughest endurance feats in the world. No wetsuit; just togs, swim cap, and goggles.
Jono Ridler and the Swim4TheOcean team will return to Parliament on 29 April 2026 to formally hand over the petition calling on the New Zealand Government to end bottom trawling on all seamounts – at home and in the high seas by the end of 2027 – and to activate a quick transition away from bottom trawling entirely.
Swim4TheOcean: Jono Ridler at Wellington’s waterfront, 4 April 2026, photographed by Ben Maurice.
Investing in the future of Aotearoa
Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation and TMNZ believe in investing in the future of Aotearoa, and particularly in protecting the health of our ocean. Swim4TheOcean is a mission that TMNZ is incredibly proud to back.
TMNZ invests 100% of profits in Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation, to support a restored and thriving Aotearoa. The Foundation’s mission is to catalyse transformation in areas of crucial vulnerability, particularly supporting a resilient natural environment and thriving communities - for future generations.
This significant opportunity to support Jono Ridler and Live Ocean is a way for us to join the collective effort, helping expand this call to implement meaningful change for Aotearoa to end bottom trawling and protect New Zealand’s unique marine ecosystems.
Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation and TMNZ have proudly partnered with Live Ocean since 2020.
Swim4TheOcean: Jono Ridler and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation CEO Carl Vink outside Parliament, 4 April 2026.
Read more about Jon’s epic swim and the Swim4TheOcean mission.
All photos supplied by Live Ocean and used with permission.