A Mermaid's Tale

Long, flowing hair. Perfect skin, ruby lips and a glittering tail, gliding fluidly through the water. It's no wonder why children - and quite a few adults - across the world have been enchanted by the gorgeous mythical creature, and more than one have wished they could become one. And although we've all at one point dreamed of doing the impossible - growing wings or developing super powers - one woman actually made the impossible possible - and became a real-life mermaid.

"'Mer' means 'sea' and 'maid' is another world for 'servant'," explains Australian national Hannah Fraser, who's based in the US, when asked about her usual title. "You can call me 'servant of the sea' if that makes you more comfortable!"
Having dipped her feet into the unusual profession over 13 years ago, this 'servant of the sea' is one of the world's most prominent, professional mermaids. So how did she manage to get involved in what is undoubtedly, one of the coolest jobs in the world? Of course, it all started with a little imagination, and the will to stick by it.

Hannah poses posing next to a sunken ship
"I always believed in mermaids as a little girl," Hannah confesses. "I thought that if I just looked hard enough, I'd be able to find one, hiding behind a rock on the beach or just over the waves. I remember going to the library and searching for all information on mermaids I could find, and was confused that no book could ever tell me where to find one!"
She also had a vivid imagination, and loved to sketch out mermaids endlessly. At the age of nine, she happened to watch the 1984 movie Splash, and all the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together. "That's when I realised that I could become my art, not just create drawings of it. I then went on to make my first tail with the help of my mother who is very artistic!"

Hannah is swimming alongside underwater photographer and ocean conservationist Alicia Franco
Her creation was made with tablecloth and pillow stuffing - not exactly the ideal mermaid materials - but that didn't bother Hannah in the slightest. The youngster immediately set about practising swimming with her legs joined, and learning to hold her breath - something that would later pave the way for her unique career.
"It started when I once auditioned for an underwater modelling shoot," says Hannah. "Now, I'm not model height, so when I arrived and was surrounded by glamorous tall women, I thought 'no way', but you know what? None of them could hold their breath underwater, and after all my practice as a kid, I got booked!"
This, in turn, rekindled her passion for swimming. Swimming with her legs joined together came naturally to her, after the years of practice, and Hannah was well-versed with yoga and meditation techniques through her mother, which helped her hold her breath underwater (Hannah can hold her breath for up to two minutes while swimming and performing underwater but the time also depends on the temperature of the water, the currents and the physical activity required). ?Finding a mermaid tail, however, was not as easy. Hannah ended up having to make her own tale - a feat that took her months to get right. "For me, the tail is a work of art that has to be fully functional as well as beautiful. There are so many elements to deal with - it needs to be flexible, long lasting, comfortable, safe, aesthetically pleasing and as realistic as possible. I hand-sew thousands of tiny scale sequins all over the tail for a very shiny, fishy look to finish it off, and then add transparent plastic fins as highlights." 
Today, Hannah is the proud owner of 14 mermaid tails, each of which took four months to create, and it are these tails that she uses on numerous underwater shoots swimming alongside dolphins, humpback whales, manta rays, seals and, yes, even sharks!
"I think one of the first shoots I did was with a manta ray," says Hannah. "It was enormous! It swam around me for about one hour. Gradually, I learned how to get close to it without scaring it away, and eventually even blew bubbles onto it, which it seemed to love! However, there was one point where I got too close to the wingtip and startled it, and my head was knocked to the side by its muscular wingtip flapping as it swam away. It was a shock to the system, and I learned that when swimming with mantas, you should only be below or above them!"
Another time, when she was in Hawaii, she was joined by a pod of playful dolphins and they encircled her for a minute while she was 20 feet deep, and one dolphin came very close, making chirping, twittering squeaks and using its sonar on her. "The whole experience felt like meeting intelligent alien species that is full of joy and fun!"
"It's the process of learning about the animals, understanding their characteristics, and how to safely interact with them, that has given me confidence underwater."
It may have started out as fun, but the more Hannah interacted with gentle marine creatures, the more it opened her eyes to the grave injustice being done to them. "I found out that these magnificent creatures, that were supposed to be protected, were still being hunted and killed. I saw destroyed reefs before my eyes, beaches covered in garbage, and, most devastating of all, I learned of numerous species being ?annihilated because of pollution and over-fishing. I realised that being a mermaid was no longer just about fantasy or a fairytale for me. It was time to take action!"
Hannah has a point. According to a study of catch data published in 2006 in the journal Science, if fishing continues at the rate it is going right now, the world's fisheries will have collapsed by the year 2048. Other estimations have reported that industrial fishing has erased a whopping 90 per cent of the large ocean fish that used to exist in the pre-industrial days.
Hannah immediately began to protest at the whaling commissions around the world. But her work as an activist didn't stop there - she was a part of the 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove that captured the brutal hunting of dolphins in Japan. "I was part of a group that included professional surfer David Rastovich and actress Hayden Panettiere, that paddled out into the bay of Taiji, Japan, where was attacked by fishermen who were extremely angry that we were there interfering with their work and their culture. Despite the film's success, many people have not seen it. It was then that I realised that people are not always ready to face reality if it is ugly."
Hannah set on a new path to raise awareness: instead of showcasing the harsh realities, she released beautiful images that displayed the gentle nature of underwater creatures. She did this by teaming up with Emmy-award winning cinematographer and eco-activist Shawn Heinrich. Together, the duo has created numerous environmental campaigns such as Mastas Last Dance, Tigress Shark and Betrayal, in which Hannah is seen 'dancing' alongside with manta rays, tiger sharks and whales, respectively.
She has also been part of documentaries such as Great White Shark: Beyond the Cage of Fear and Blue Horizon, and is currently working alongside Shawn Heinrich for their latest documentary Tears of a Mermaid, which showcases their underwater adventures.
"Sometimes I find it incredible that I make a good living out of being a mermaid. This just goes to show, if you are passionate about something, it doesn't matter how unusual it is - there is a market for it! By being a mermaid, I'm able to bridge the gap between the land and the sea - and appeal to people through fantasy."
This little mermaid also confesses that she's always dreamed of visiting Dubai. "Dubai is a place where fantasy has become reality, by literally appearing in an empty desert as a representation of the ingenuity and creativity of the ?human spirit."
She may not be swimming away into the sunset, but Hannah is living her own fairytale dream. So what does the future have in store for the gorgeous mermaid? "Well, the way that I do my campaigns will keep evolving - from swimming and modelling to speaking at events, doing workshops and, who knows, maybe even opening a 'Mer-University'. I wish I could create a real-life 'Atlantis' someday that people can visit. A mermaid, or a servant of the sea, is something I will be until my dying day."
janice@khaleejtimes.com