Hi! my name is Gale, and if I was a mermaid my tail would be blue with orange fins like this peacock cichlid, and my mermaid power would be controlling schools of fish the way thresher sharks do with their tails. I think I would be a brackish mermaid, and live in a habitat like a mangrove forest.
I’m a Marine Biology major, Junior and new transfer this semester. I’m pursuing a career in animal husbandry in public Aquaria, because it allows me to combine my passions for studying, hanging out with, and talking about aquatic life!
My Story
Until approximately June 2021, I was very dismissive of fish. Even as a lifelong naturalist, my interests centered on the terrestrial and non-aquatic. The reason? I found fish depressing! I wondered what joy could possibly be experienced in a life of constant vicious predation, a life without air, a life sequestered to, confined by, the realm of water.
Then I started working at a pet store, and I realized several things: First, terrestrial life is every bit as brutal, cold, and unforgiving as aquatic life. There’s nothing worse about being hunted and consumed underwater. Second, fish are every bit as capable of joy as terrestrial animals; they play, they are curious, they have personalities and relationships. Third, there is nothing limiting about relying on water to live. The underwater world comprises 70% of the earth’s surface, and as I learned later when I started diving, being able to swim means having access not only to all of that surface, but to depth– everything that can swim can fly, and is not bound by gravity the way we are on land.
My experience working in that pet store (after dropping out of art school) inspired me to get a degree in Marine Biology so I could share my new appreciation of our planet with the world. I am realizing now that Mermaids might be as critical a vessel for spreading this message as public aquariums. Mermaids, for my whole life, have represented primarily Humans’ connection to and stewardship of the sea (and other bodies of water). I’m excited to see how this fits into the history of our perception of mermaids, and what this trend says about the progress of Blue Humanities.
Well, you are in the perfect class, and I am SO glad you are here! “Mermaids, for my whole life, have represented primarily Humans’ connection to and stewardship of the sea (and other bodies of water).” YES. And, what a fascinating backstory of your learning adventure to get to you where you need to be– studying mermaids AS means of studying ocean conservation, marine biology, and narrative/storytelling/messaging. Thanks for being here.