A Spanish swimmer found a unique way to draw international attention for the need to save the Dead Sea, which experts say is shrinking by one meter every year.

Carlos Pena swam crossed the Dead Sea's northern and southern banks, which lies in the heart of the world's lowest spot on earth, and is famous for its high concentration of mineral salts.

Pena, supported by the Spanish embassy in Amman and Jordan's Ministry of Water and irrigation, was accompanied throughout his swim by his assistant Yolanda Mintegui on an inflatable boat.

Mintegui told The Jordan Times said "Pena has swum in several lakes across the world in Peru, Venezuela, Germany, and Chile. By this trip, he seeks to motivate the world to save natural heritage sites such as the Dead Sea."

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation says Dead Sea water level has dropped by 24 meters over the past 55 years, shrinking its surface area from a historic 950 square kilometers by about two thirds to 630 square kilometers.

The World Bank says the declining water level at the Dead Sea is caused mainly by extraction of water from its main tributary, the Jordan River, as only 10 per cent of the river now flows into the Dead Sea. Little rainfall and evaporation due to the area’s hot and arid climate have also harmed the Dead Sea, with annual rainfall reaching 90 millimeters  per year compared to an annual evaporation of 1,500mm.