Malibu - South African endurance swimmer Sarah Ferguson set a new world record by becoming the first person to swim around the entire perimeter of Easter Island as part of Swim Against Plastic.

Swim Against Plastic is a global campaign to help end plastic pollution organised by the organisations.

Ferguson achieved the world-record swim around Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, March 16.

She swam 63.5km continuously over a duration of 19 hours and 8 minutes, finishing ahead of schedule in a swim expected to take approximately 24 hours to complete. Ferguson began swimming on Friday, March 15, officially launching the Swim Against Plastic campaign.

"It's an incredibly special moment for my team and me right now. To have pioneered a swim like this is still something I am wrapping my head around! But to have succeeded in doing something no one else has done is both humbling and amazingly exciting," said Ferguson, founder of Breathe Conservation and Ambassador for Plastic Oceans International.

"I hope that just as I swam around Easter Island, one stroke at a time, people choose to make one small decision at a time around single-use plastic to help preserve this beautiful blue ocean of ours."

The goal of Swim Against Plastic is to encourage people to rethink their habits toward single-use, or throwaway plastic, and empower them to change and become part of the solution.

Ferguson swam through dangerous currents in very high salt content, facing many serious risks to accomplish this human first.

She trained extensively to prepare and arrived on Easter Island from South Africa, March 11.

People worldwide are encouraged to join Swim Against Plastic to end plastic pollution.

To get informed, inspired, rethink plastic, and make changes to be part of the solution, visit SwimAgainstPlastic.com, and follow #SwimAgainstPlastic on social media.