Swimmer reveals how he conquered grueling, frigid 12-day mission on Jaws anniversary to prove sharks are not monsters

A shark activist swimmer who spent 12 days swimming around Martha’s Vineyard to mark the 50th anniversary of “Jaws” revealed he broke his cardinal rule during the grueling — and frigid — 60-mile journey.Lewis Pugh, 55, had promised himself not to think about what sharks might be lurking below him as he tried to draw attention to the fact the animals are no monsters.“There was one day when I was getting into the water and it was very, very early in the morning,” Pugh told The Post.“The sun hadn’t even risen.

It was just twilight and I’m lowering myself into dark black water.“If you’ve been talking about sharks all day long the day before, guess what you’re thinking about when you lower yourself down that ladder?”But the 55-year-old British-South African swimmer didn’t have any close encounters.“Sharks are not monsters, they are magnificent,” he said.“They’re essential.

They’re seriously endangered… If you take them out, the entire ecosystem starts to collapse.”“‘Jaws’ has shaped the narrative about sharks for the past 50 years as cold-blooded killers out to get us, and it’s created a culture of fear around the world … I felt that now was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change a narrative,” he said..Although Pugh has completed swims in all of the world’s oceans, this particular task pushed him to the limit, he said.“It’s been a long journey, it really has,” he said after the swim — which was completed Monday and comes ahead of the 50th anniversary of the blockbuster film from director Steven Spielberg.“Twelve days, cold water, constant wind, waves, and then always thinking of what may be beneath me<‘ he said.

“It’s been a big swim.A very big swim,”Pugh battled bad weather for most of the 25-hour-and-51-minute swim around the island, with the exception of gorgeous, clear skies on the first and last days of the journey, he said.And he didn’t have any run-ins with sharks, but he d...