Long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte has set off from Japan’s east coast in his bid to become the first person to swim across the Pacific Ocean.
His two children, Max and Anna, swam out with him for a few hundred metres before leaving the 50-year-old Frenchman to continue the task of crossing the world’s largest expanse of water.
Mr Lecomte, who swam across the Atlantic Ocean in 1998, will hope to next see his children in San Francisco after a journey of 9,100km, which is expected to take more than six months.
He said his plan is to swim for eight hours daily, and consume more than 8,000 calories each day.
Around 30 scientific organisations, some medical and some oceanographic, will be benefiting from the data gathered during the expedition by Mr Lecomte's support team.
Much of the research will focus on plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean, specifically the build-up of plastic smog containing billions of pieces of microplastic.
Mr Lecomte, whose departure took place on World Environment Day, has said he is concerned about the effect of pervasive plastic pollution on marine ecosystems.
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