mermaid

55-year-old Renate Herberger, aka Mermaid, from Germany, swam from Playa Garza to Playa Ostional on Monday morning, February 21, 2011 to bring attention on the marine sanctuaries.

Forth time swimming in Nosara for the same cause, she did her first big swim in 2008. Since then she has been traveling around the world to spread the word about the danger that humans create for the oceans. Activist and conservationist Mermaid said, “ If things continue as they are right now, the predictions are that in the year 2048, there won’t be any edible fish in the ocean.”

A torn meniscus, which left Mermaid with a lifelong disability on her leg, led her to increase the amount of swimming. Since the injury of 2005, she has been swimming for hours each day. She feels pain-free while swimming because of the absence of gravity in the ocean. The longest time she spent without a swim was a week, she said. Mermaid was originally a dance therapist.