The steady push brings his total to 776km, with just over 611km remaining on the route to Wellington.
Southbound Beyond East Cape – A Six Hour Swim
By Live Ocean
23/02/2026
Read time: 3 min
Article Summary
Main Points
With nearly 17,800 people now backing the call to end bottom trawling, Swim4TheOcean continues its determined progress toward Gisborne.
On Sunday, 22 February, Jono completed one long swim from 11:11am to 5:10pm – a six-hour push tracking south from the last marked GPS point, just beyond East Cape Lighthouse, past the Waiapu River mouth and down towards Port Awanui.
The swim followed a weather enforced rest day, giving Jono and the crew time to reset. The Swim4TheOcean team are currently being hosted at Reporua Marae, transiting each day back to the point where Jono last exited the water.
Before heading out, Jono outlined the plan: “Our plan is for an 11am swim start and only having one longer swim today. What we’ve found is this area of the coast lends itself more to those longer single sessions. I want to get back onto those double-swim days as soon as we can, but we’ve got to work with the current and what we’re given.”
Speaking from the Reporua Marae area ahead of departure, he added: “Our start point is back towards East Cape and hopefully we make it down toward here. We’ve got a northerly wind today and it looks lovely. First day after a rest day and the body feels pretty good. I’ve got a little bit of inflamed tendon going on, but nothing that I can’t work through.”
Conditions made progress hard-earned. Jono averaged 2.3km/h for the session, covering 13.72km in total – one of those slower days dictated by current rather than effort.
The live tracker now shows Jono has swum 776.1km of the projected 1,387.53km route, with 611.4km remaining as he continues south toward Wellington carrying the call to end bottom trawling.
More than 17,800 people have signed the Swim4TheOcean call asking the New Zealand Government to end bottom trawling on all seamounts – in New Zealand waters and on the high seas – by the end of 2027, and to activate a rapid transition away from bottom trawling entirely.
The next community stopover is expected in Gisborne later this week.
Swim at a glance – 23 February
Time: 5 hours 59 minutes
Distance: 13.72km
Average speed: 2.3km/h
Join The Call To End Bottom Trawling
New Zealand is still bottom trawling seamounts in our own waters, and the only nation still bottom trawling seamounts in the South Pacific high seas.
It’s time to stop being an outlier and protect the ocean’s most vital habitats.
We’re 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.
We are a nation of innovators and ocean people.
It’s time to do the right thing.
For the ocean. For our future.
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29,543 others calling for an end to bottom trawling!
29,543 others calling for an end to bottom trawling!
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