Swimming the Sognefjord – Mission Blue

On Sunday, August 23, we accomplished our swim of the Sognefjord – 205 kilometres by the world’s longest ice-free fjord and the world’s deepest fjord. We swam all the fjord in 30 days /levels, roughly 7 kilometres every.

In doing so, we grew to become the primary Norwegians to swim all the Sognefjord, and Ingjerd grew to become the primary lady on the planet to take action. But this was by no means primarily about information. We swam for the fjord. Dan additionally grew to become the primary Sámi to swim the fjord, and his background offers the journey a further dimension. He is of Northern Sea Sámi heritage, and a deep connection to nature and the ocean is a part of his cultural heritage.

Together, we based Swim4Fjords to lift consciousness and advocate for the safety of Norway’s distinctive and susceptible fjord ecosystems. We are additionally proud to symbolize the Jæren Coast Mission Blue Hope Spot in Norway.

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Documenting beneath the floor

Throughout the journey, we did greater than swim. At each stage, we freedived beneath the floor to {photograph} and movie. We wished to doc the fjord because it actually is – not solely the spectacular panorama seen from above, however the life and modifications going down beneath the floor. The materials has been shared with marine biologist and researcher Hartvig Christie to place the observations right into a scientific context. Some of what we noticed was stunning. Some of it was deeply regarding.

Following the salmon’s route

In some ways, we adopted the migration route of the wild Atlantic salmon – from the inside fjord, the place salmon return to spawn, in the direction of the open sea. The numbers inform a worrying story. Norway’s wild salmon spawning inhabitants is estimated at solely round 300,000–400,000 fish. A single salmon-farming cage can include round 200,000 farmed salmon. Two cages can subsequently maintain roughly as many fish as all the Norwegian wild salmon spawning inhabitants. And these fish share the identical fjord.

It is unimaginable to swim the Sognefjord with out noticing the various fish farms. According to the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), aquaculture is by far the biggest supply of human-caused nitrogen and phosphorus emissions alongside the Norwegian coast. NIVA estimates that nitrogen emissions from aquaculture are equal to untreated sewage from greater than 17 million folks – a number of instances Norway’s inhabitants.

The influence of aquaculture will not be restricted to nutrient air pollution. Salmon farms additionally contribute to the unfold of salmon lice, which may pose a severe risk to wild salmon and sea trout. The cleansing of fish-farm nets may also launch collected natural matter and chemical residues into the encompassing atmosphere, including additional stress to an already susceptible fjord ecosystem.

If we wish wild salmon to return to those rivers and fjords, we should shield the waters they depend upon.

Lurv – the actual monster within the fjord

One of probably the most putting issues we encountered was filamentous algae, domestically often known as lurv. Through out the fjord, thick layers of algae coated the kelp forests, as we swam.

Dense progress of filamentous algae could be a signal of an ecosystem out of steadiness. It can cowl kelp forests, scale back obtainable mild and have an effect on the habitat and meals sources on which different species rely.

During one stage, after we had simply crossed 100 kilometres – midway by the fjord – robust currents pressured us to swim near shore for the ultimate 2.5 kilometres. What started as a necessity grew to become an surprising underwater inspection. We swam alongside a kelp forest within the intertidal zone utterly coated in thick lurv. One steady carpet of algae. It felt as if the fjord had the flu – severely in poor health, however nonetheless stunning on the floor.

Again and once more, native folks instructed us tales concerning the fjord they bear in mind from their childhood – a fjord wealthy in fish, the place fishing was a part of on a regular basis life. Today, they are saying, there are far fewer fish and few fishing boats. Instead, we see leisure boats, RIBs and enormous cruise ships shifting by the fjord. The floor can nonetheless seem like a postcard. But beneath it, one thing is altering.

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When the fjord holds its breath

At its deepest level, the Sognefjord reaches 1,308 metres. During our journey, we swam immediately above the deepest level of the world’s deepest fjord. With greater than a kilometre of water stretching beneath us, it’s simple to grasp why the Sognefjord known as the King of Fjords. Together with Norwegian freediver Mari Aarbø, we made a symbolic dive above its deepest level. What really exists down there? The Sognefjord will not be solely a spectacular panorama seen from the floor. Far under, there are landscapes of one other variety – a singular deep-sea ecosystem formed by darkness and stress, residence to sponges, echinoderms, cnidarians and different species tailored to life the place daylight by no means reaches.

And down there may be additionally a tiny “monster”: Anelasma squalicola. This unusual barnacle has taken evolution in a wholly completely different path. Researchers have discovered it dwelling on deep-sea sharks within the Sognefjord, at depths of roughly 100–1,000 metres. Instead of filtering meals from the water like most barnacles, it has advanced right into a parasite, attaching itself to the shark and rising into its tissue to acquire vitamins. A tiny animal. A novel adaptation. A fantastic thriller. Perhaps additionally it is a reminder of how little we really know concerning the life beneath us – and the way a lot could also be altering earlier than we even realize it exists.

Because, whereas we swim above these huge depths, profound modifications are going down under. The oxygen content material of the Sognefjord’s deep water has declined by round 15% over the previous 30 years. According to NIVA, roughly two-thirds of the decline will be linked to elevated inputs of vitamins and natural matter, whereas round one-third is related to rising sea temperatures.

The Sognefjord is a sill fjord. At its entrance, the underwater threshold is barely round 200 metres deep, limiting the alternate of deep water with the open ocean. As the ocean warms, renewal of the deep water turns into harder. At the identical time, elevated inputs of vitamins and natural matter place a better demand on the obtainable oxygen. It is as if the fjord is discovering it more and more troublesome to breathe. What occurs to the life down there when oxygen disappears? Which species quietly vanish earlier than we even have time to find that they had been there?
Every fjord has a tipping level. Research signifies that the interval between deep-water renewals is growing in Norwegian sill fjords. How shut are we to some extent the place an ecosystem modifications so profoundly that returning it to its former state turns into troublesome? This is among the causes we swim. To make the invisible seen. What occurs when a fjord loses its means to breathe? How deeply can we care about what we can’t see?

A fjord value defending
The Sognefjord will not be the primary Norwegian fjord we’ve got swum. We have beforehand swum the Lysefjord, Repparfjord and Varangerfjord, whereas Ingjerd has additionally swum the Jæren Coast Hope Spot and the Førdefjord, the place she swam to lift consciousness about plans for submarine disposal of mine tailings, as we additionally did in Repparfjord.

Norway is among the only a few nations on the planet that also permits submarine disposal of mine tailings. In the Førdefjord case, the Supreme Court finally dominated in June this yr that the dumping allow was illegal. Despite this legally binding judgment, the Norwegian authorities has not but stopped the dumping. The Førdefjord is a neighbouring fjord to the Sognefjord. These experiences have strengthened our dedication to defending Norway’s fjords.

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Every stroke for the fjord
We have to act whereas there may be nonetheless one thing left to guard. The goodwill and help of the folks dwelling alongside the fjord carried us by all 205 kilometres, as we swam with a message in each stroke. A safety course of for the Sognefjord is presently underway. Our pictures and documentation from all the 205-kilometre swim will likely be submitted as a part of this course of. We hope our observations can contribute to the information base and, finally, to actual and efficient safety of the Sognefjord and its inhabitants.

© Swim4Fjords