The next time you go diving off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, keep an eye out for mermaids. The 1000 Mermaid Artificial Reef Project is a bio-productive EcoArt initiative and a tourist diving hotspot that seeks to raise awareness about the declining Florida reefs and contribute to their restoration.
Florida boasts the only extensive shallow coral reef formations in the continental United States, making it home to the third-largest reef system in the world. However, these essential ecosystems are dying at alarming rates—over 90% have disappeared in recent decades, significantly outpacing other famous reefs like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
With the 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef Project, ocean enthusiasts and body cast artists Ernest Vasquez and Sierra Rasberry are determined to change this trend.
The project’s inspiration arose when the artists were commissioned to create a sculpture of a client’s wife as a mermaid for his yacht. Unfortunately, when it was time to deliver the piece, the client had lost everything, including his business and the yacht.
“I have bad news,” he told the couple. “I lost my business, I lost my boat, I lost my wife.” To worsen matters, he was sentenced to federal prison. When Vasquez asked about what to do with the mermaid sculpture, the client simply said, “I don’t care, throw it in the ocean.”
This pivotal moment sparked the vision for the project.
Each mermaid for the reef project is individually handcrafted from sustainable concrete by Vasquez and Rasberry through their enterprise Miami Body Cast. The sculptures rest on coral reef modules created by Reef Cells, which utilizes eco-friendly materials in reef shapes to encourage coral and marine life attachment. Coral Lok frag plugs facilitate the immediate attachment of live coral to the man-made reef.
“The Coral Loks could potentially be the key to saving the coral reefs,” explains Evan Snow, Project Manager & Executive Director of the 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef Project. “Traditional methods are limited and labor-intensive, but this allows for faster and safer coral deployment than ever before.”
In consultation with scientists, local governments, and the Army Corps of Engineers, the project made its first deployment of 18 sculptures in August 2019. This marked the initial step in creating an eco-friendly dive site that diverts traffic from natural reefs, allowing them to recover. The artificial reef enhances marine wildlife, boosts fishery populations, and acts similarly to a natural reef to shield the shore from destructive waves.
However, there is still plenty of work ahead, and public participation is vital. The casting of mermaids starts at $7,500 USD. The project also welcomes donations of funds, resources, time, and airline miles, enabling the team to attend and present their concepts to leading reef experts at the 14th International Coral Reef Symposium in Germany this July.
“One of our guiding principles is using art as a problem-solver,” shares Snow, who envisions a lifelong commitment to this initiative. “Yes, we are aiming for 1,000 mermaids. A goal of ten would be trivial, a hundred would be doable. We decided on 1,000 as it feels infinite.”
