An environmental group is calling for bottom trawling to be banned by showing the effect it has on 'merfolk.'
On Wednesday, Penryn’s Ocean Rebellion crew claimed to have found a gossip of mermaids entangled in discarded fishing waste.
They say the pod had washed up along with a trawler boat on Sailors Creek, up the Penryn River.
The group claims the mythical creatures are being killed by the effects of ghost fishing gear and damage from industrial fishing, damage that is destroying all the local coastal ecosystems they inhabit.
A trawler was also beached nearby in the creek.
The action was a collaboration between Ocean Rebellion and local professional merfolk, all the nets and plastic used were salvaged from Cornish beaches by Gweek based Clean Ocean Sailing.
Together, all of these groups are trying to work towards a healthier ocean by addressing issues of overfishing, marine plastic, and blue carbon.
Last week's action focuses specifically on the harm to our ocean and to the local fishing fleet by the deeply unsustainable method of fishing called bottom trawling.
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Bottom trawling is a method of fishing which destroys fish populations, releases blue carbon (the CO2 captured in the sea bed) and ploughs through marine habitats.
Ocean Rebellion say they have also been contacted by divers and conservationists on the Helford river reporting that bottom trawlers are illegally trawling the oyster beds there at night, decimating the seabed.
Roc Sandford, a member of Ocean Rebellion said: "Humanity has declared war on fish and we’re winning.
"The Ocean is so depleted that small fishing communities are on the edge of survival and areas of former plenty are now empty.
"It’s a no-brainer to ban bottom trawling both on climate breakdown and nature breakdown grounds.
"Climate breakdown and nature breakdown are effectively the same thing and both have to be stopped now."
Suzanne Stallard also from Ocean Rebellion said: "The Ocean can recover quickly, but only if we halt this destructive practice now, within a few years these precious ecosystems will regenerate and fish populations will stabilise.
"We just need to give life a chance."
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