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Mermaid's
tale of woe,
by Andy Parks, June 25, 2008
(Credit:
The
Northern Star)
BYRON
BAY'S own mermaid girl, Hannah Fraser, has been causing
a scene at the International Whaling Convention in
Santiago, Chile.
Hannah
and her husband, surfer and film-maker Dave Rastovich,
are part of an%organisation called Surfers For Cetaceans.
Together
they have been%travelling the coast of South America
in the lead-up to the convention, promoting the%financial
and environmental benefits of whale and dolphin tours.
Hannah
is a model who has been fascinated with mermaids since
she was three years old. In 2002, she created a mermaid's
tail made from a plastic boomerang, coat-hangers,
flippers, duct tape and wetsuit material that allowed
her live out her fantasy and swim through the water
like a mermaid.
Since
then she has been filmed and photographed as a mermaid
for numerous artistic and commercial projects.
For
the past two years, Surfers For Cetaceans has been
raising awareness about the slaughter of whales and
dolphins and created an online petition called 'Minds
in the Water'.
More
than 11,000 people have joined the petition by uploading
an image of themselves holding an%image of a whale
or dolphin,%or holding placards calling for an end
to the slaughter.
Hannah
and David are planning to present the petition at
the IWC this week as a huge mosaic of portraits measuring
over 36 metres in length.
"The
Visual Petition has been an amazing way to communicate
the support of the%international ocean community,"
Hannah said. "Being able to see each individual
face of the people who feel so strongly about this
issue is a very powerful statement."
Last
October, six members of the Surfers For Cetaceans,
including Hannah and David, were arrested when they
paddled out and filmed the killing of 30 pilot whales
in Taiji,% Japan. Hannah said despite the horror of
the incident they were able to film it and bring it
to the attention of millions of people around the
world.
"Over
23,000 small dolphins and whales are being killed
each year in Japan and this%issue is not even acknowledged
at the IWC," she said.
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