英遠泳選手、きれいになったＮＹハドソン川を完泳　水質改善訴え

【ニューヨークＡＦＰ＝時事】英国の遠泳選手のルイス・ピュー氏（５３）が１３日、米ニューヨークを流れる全長約５００キロのハドソン川の完泳に成功した。数十年にわたるハドソン川の浄化活動の成果をアピールするとともに、他の河川の水質改善も訴えた。（写真は米ニューヨークを流れるハドソン川を泳ぐルイス・ピュー氏）
　ピュー氏は、山にある源からニューヨーク市内の河口まで、１か月をかけて泳ぎ切った。完泳後、報道陣に対し「ハドソン川は５０年前、世界で最も汚染された川の一つだった」「私たちは川をきれいで健全に保たなければならない」と語った。
　さらに、ハドソン川がかつて、染料や汚染物質が流れ込み、日によって水の色が違うことがあったと指摘。今では数十年に及ぶ浄化活動によって、安全に泳げるようになったとし、今回の完泳が他の人々の刺激になればと期待を寄せた。
　「ここで起きたことに触発された人が、ハドソン川でできるなら、私たちの川でもできる、川を救えると思うようになる」と述べた。
　同氏は１０年前、国連の初の海洋分野のパトロンに任命されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/09/15-15:34）

British endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh on Wednesday completed a 315-mile (500-kilometer) journey down New York's Hudson River, highlighting its successful decades-long cleanup as a beacon for other waterways.
Fifty years ago, this was one of the most polluted rivers in the whole world, said Pugh, 53, who was appointed the first UN patron of the oceans a decade ago.
We need to have clean, healthy rivers, he told reporters after completing the unassisted trip from the Hudson's mountain source all the way down to New York City.
He said that in New York's industrial past, the river would sometimes change color from day to day, depending on what dyes and other pollutants were dumped or ran off.
But after decades of action to clean up pollution, Pugh was able to safely swim down the river, a month-long feat he said will hopefully inspire others.
They're going to be inspired by what happened here and say to themselves: 'If they can do that in the Hudson, surely we can do it in our river and our river can also be saved,' he said.
Pugh has previously undertaken high-profile swims in Antarctica, the North Pole and the Red Sea to advocate for rivers clean enough to swim and fish in safely.
His Hudson River feat comes as leaders from the around the globe are set to descend on New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly, during which a historic High Seas Treaty is to be formally signed.