Mermaids are the mythical creatures that Christopher Columbus, Henry Hudson, and many more have claimed to see while on their journeys at sea. These maidens of the sea are known throughout the world from the tales, movies, and shows dedicated to this half human, half fish sea-dweller. Since ancient times, mermaids have bewitched people but concrete evidence in modern times to discredit or credit this aquatic humanoid continues to propel this marine mystery.

The first story of mermaids can be dated back to the Assyrian Empire, based around a deity from 3500 years ago in the ancient Assyrian Empire: Atargatis. This goddess was depicted as a half woman, half fish deity and considered to be the “Mother of the Gods”, going by various names such as Ataratah, Derketo, and Dea Syria. This goddess can be found on ancient coins and a description of an ancient statue of Atargatis by Lucian of Samosata shows that she fit the description of a mermaid. The tale of this ancient goddess says that she threw herself into a lake due to the shame of having a child with a mortal man and was turned into a fish. Although farfetched in the department of science and reality for various reasons, this tale introduces the concept of an aquatic human. Potentially acting as fuel for the concept of humanoid sea creatures. Another early tale comes from Greece, dealing with family members of Alexander the Great and a cursed mermaid. Thessalonike of Macedon was the daughter of Philip II and his concubine, Nikesipolis, making her the half-sister of Alexander the Great. After she had heard the death of her brother, legend says that she tried to drown herself in the Aegean Sea and became a mermaid with the task of passing judgment on sailors that come across her. Although these tales are debated to be true, this concept of a half-human, half-fish sea maiden has continued to reappear throughout history in the form of folklore and eyewitness accounts. Rusalkas were the undead woman that dwelled near water and brought young men to their death in Russia, Korea has a statue of a mermaid dedicated to the Princess Hwang-Ok - an alleged mermaid, and there is the tale of Meermin van Edam (Mermaid of Edam) - a mermaid who became a Dutch citizen in Holland and peacefully lived among humans. These are but a few of the countless examples of aquatic humans from all around the world, their credibility residing far from science.

With this, there are plenty of accounts and tales that are proven to be nothing more than frauds. The Fiji Mermaid was a perfect example of a hoax. Presented by Phineas Taylor Barnum for an exhibition, this artificial creature created through the combination of a fishtail and torso of a monkey was claimed to be a real mermaid. In reality, this fake was “…an example of a traditional art form perfected by fishermen in Japan and the East Indies who constructed faux mermaids by stitching the upper bodies of apes onto the bodies of fish.” (The Feejee Mermaid). On top of this, many of the eye witnessing accounts of this mythical being from sailors have been discredited. Many researchers, “…believe that sightings of human-size ocean animals such as manatees and dugongs might have inspired merfolk legends… They don't look exactly like a typical mermaid or merman, of course, but many sightings were from quite a distance away, and being mostly submerged in water … only parts of their bodies were visible. Identifying animals in water is inherently problematic since eyewitnesses by definition are only seeing a small part of the creature. When you add in the factor of low light at sunset and the distances involved, positively identifying even a known creature can be very difficult. A glimpse of a head, arm, or tail just before it dives under the waves might have spawned some mermaid reports” (Radford). In many cases, eyewitness accounts are seen as unreliable and don’t aid in crediting the existence of mermaids. Or so most would say.

On the contrary, a historical document from the Nation Library of Wales provides compelling evidence on mermaids. This account was from a farmer that claims to have observed a mermaid for three hours. This account already differs from most accounts since this farmer claims to have watched this creature for hours, compared to the brief seconds that some sailors had. On top of this, it was said that this man was in the company of others, who were witnesses to the same event and claim they have seen the same thing. Nonetheless, lying isn’t uncommon among humans and this lie could’ve just been propelled by the others in this farmer’s company. There is also the issue of mistakenly identifying the creature in the water, the various factors previously mentioned causing this farmer to mistake a common sea creature for that of a fair maiden. In actuality, human accounts and history contain many flaws. From religious beliefs that are debatable to lies for attention, this type of evidence insufficiently provides credible evidence for mermaids. In the end, one would think it to be safe to discredit the existence of mermaids based on these examples, but there are other sources from which evidence can be gathered.

Looking at another realm of information, mermaids have been found worthy enough to earn an official statement from a government organization. In an up to date statement from the National Ocean Service, they state that “No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found” (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Unlike many superstitious and mythical creatures, mermaids were able to captivate enough attention to be officially deemed as fiction after a documentary on them was released. The documentary, “Mermaids: The Body Found”, was a special that consisted of “science fiction based on some real events and scientific theory” (Mikkelson). This production by Animal planet caused many to wonder if the CGI creatures in the show were real and prompted the National Ocean Service to address that mermaids have been discussed all across the world, but that was no evidence to support these claims of aquatic humans. In contrast, the National Ocean Service has also provided an official statement that could be seen as evidence against their claims on mermaids. In 2018, they stated that “More than eighty percent of our ocean is unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored,”(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) – leaving plenty of room in the ocean for mermaids to hide away from human eyes. The ocean is vast and full of mysteries - our lack of fully comprehending what inhabits the salty waters of Earth says that it would be premature to deny the existence of mermaids. The National Ocean Service may be right in that there is no solid evidence of humanoid existence in the sea, but it could simply be due to our lack of ocean exploration. It is very possible that solid evidence of mermaids can’t be presented because we haven’t explored enough of the ocean, but there are still more questions on these sea dwellers that need to be addressed.

Historical evidence and statements from official organizations are debatable on reliability, but solid facts are harder to argue. Concerning mermaids, science has also chimed in on trying to provide information for the existence of aquatic humans in our oceans. Evolutionarily speaking, it is curious as to how this combination of human and fish became an organism. Although the Aquatic Ape theory is a highly debated theory, the basic idea of this unlikely theory could provide some ideas as to how these creatures came to be. If they were to exist and roam in our oceans. This alternative evolutionary theory says that humans may have spent a small time of their evolutionary path as aquatic creatures - similar to elephants that have ancestors from the sea or whales with antecedents from the land. Developed by Elaine Morgan, this theory focuses on differences between humans and other mammals - arguing that many human attributes differ from monkeys and would suggest adaptation to water. Although many points of this evolutionary theory have been disproven, it still intrigues one to think if a small chain of humans could have adapted to become aquatic creatures - creating an evolutionary branch from humans, resulting in mermaids. Regardless of the theory in itself, if humans were to evolve into aquatic creatures, it would provide a reasonable answer as to how mermaids came to be. Looking at the Bajau people, also known as the “sea-nomads”, in the islands of southeast Asia, their genetically adapted bodies allow them to hold their breath underwater for as long as 13 minutes. Their enlarged spleens have contributed to their incredible abilities underwater and help to shed a possibility of where mermaids came from. However, it isn’t just this group of people with evidence of mermaids evolving from humans. Pearl divers in Japan and world records show that humans have the ability to hold their breath for long periods of time underwater. Through this, one can wonder if a small group of humans slowly evolved into what we would now consider being a mermaid. A far fetched idea, but intriguing nonetheless.

In contrast, science would state that there are some flaws with the concept of a mermaid. Humans and fish are vastly different from each other - both structurally and genetically. If a creature had components of these two organisms, it would be a scientific disaster. Fish and humans are vastly different in their complexities and come from two different animal classifications. Marine Biologist, Sheanna Steingass mentions that “An animal cannot have both human and fish-defining characteristics- it’s just all wrong, evolutionarily speaking.” The digestive tract of a human combined with a fish wouldn’t function correct well due to their varying complexities and the difference in reproductive structures wouldn’t be able to coexist in a single organism. If these creatures were real, their inability to procreate would eventually lead these creatures to extinction - assuming that mermen accompany these sea maidens. Setting aside the incompatible characteristics of fish and humans, in order for mermaids to be able to survive in the cold water of the ocean, they would need to covered in hair and/or contain large quantities of fat to keep their bodies warm. A hairy, and possibly obese, the aquatic creature doesn’t exactly line up with the images described from the eyewitness accounts - adding another flaw in the practicality of mermaids. Regardless, there is still one key factor on mermaids that support their existence - lack of knowledge.  Although there are many scientific and evolutionary facts presented that say mermaids don't exist, there may be explanations to all of this if an actual mermaid was found and examined. Speculations are just speculations - meaning that all of these statements may be invalid and don’t truly discredit the existence of mermaids due to our lack of understanding their biology. If anything, there is the possibility that mermaids aren’t a combination of fish and humans - they may be their own organism that can only be best compared with a fish from the claimed mermaids sighting.

With all of this, the existence of mermaids remains unanswered but continues to intrigue the world. Official statements, facts from science, and evidence from history continue to fuel this topic of humanoid sea-creatures, but are unable to truly answer the question: Do mermaids exist? Our lack of knowledge is a limiting factor and many would play it safe and say that these creatures only exist in fiction. While this aquatic mystery remains unsolved and controversial, it causes one to wonder how our perspective would change if mermaids were found to be real. Would we look at our oceans the same if humanoid creatures were proven to dwell in it?