A 12-year-old swam through clouds of stingless jellyfish and battled strong currents to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the sea.

On Sunday, Liam Daly became the youngest person in Malta to swim the distance of 11km. He swam from Anchor Bay, in Malta, and crossed the channel to Mġarr Ix-Xini, in Gozo, in just under four hours.

“The currents were the strongest I ever experienced, especially between Ċirkewwa and Comino. I was also pushing aside the jellyfish as I swam. I was not scared of them because I immediately recognised them as fried egg jellyfish,” said Liam.

As for swimming in the dark, deep, blue sea, he was not scared one bit because “I love it”, he said.

“While I was swimming. I concentrated on things like my pace and not on how long I had left, otherwise, I’d give up,” he said.

The swim was meant to take two-and-a -half hours but, because of the strong currents, it lasted almost four hours: three hours and 54 minutes to be precise. During that time, Liam stopped to drink and eat chocolate, without touching the boat.

He was accompanied by swimmer Johnny O Loughlin from Ireland and followed by supporting boats. His mother, Sandra, was on one of the dinghies operated by the Emergency Response and Rescue Corps.

“He did very well. There were the currents and the jellyfish but he was not scared. I’m the one who was scared. Especially when, at one point, someone spotted a big fish,” she said.

I was pushing aside the jellyfish as I swam

The young Gozitan, a Shamrock Stars athlete and Year 9 National Sports School student, embarked on the challenge to raise awareness about plastic pollution of the seas and raise funds for Nature Trust - FEE Malta. So far, he raised just over €450.

The Mediterranean Sea is declared to be the most plastic-polluted body of water in the world. Liam wants to do this part to stop that.

“I am a person who hates litter. I love animals. I don’t like to hear that turtles are hurt because they eat plastic in the sea,” he said.

This was Liam’s fifth swim to raise awareness. Each year, the distance gets longer. Last year, he swam 7km from Ċirkewwa to Gozo’s Mġarr ix-Xini in just over two hours.

In 2021, he swam from Xatt l-Aħmar, in Gozo, to Ċirkewwa. In 2020, he swam across the channel in just over two hours and, the previous year, at just eight years old, Liam swam between Comino and Gozo in under an hour. 

“Now it’s up to the people out there to do their part by donating. Even if it’s only a euro. It can make a difference if everyone gives something small,” he said.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so by sending on: Revolut or BOV Mobile: 00356 99424975 Paypal: https://paypal.me/shamrockstars.

Follow more on the Facebook page ‘Liam’s Swim - Keep the Sea Plastic Free’.