Who am I and why you would want to listen to a word I have to say. I am just a mermaid after all...right? Mermaid has had many different meanings and symbols throughout history. Now, it most often describes a female that has a love for, or spends a lot of time in, near, and around water. Divers, surfers, swimmers, beach bums, paddle boarders and many more could all be called “mermaids”. It means so much more to many of us. We are ambassadors, educators, scientists, athletes, tourists, artists, and storytellers. We are of all genders. But who am I in the big wide sea full of fish?

I am an educator, scuba diver, artist, and storyteller which I guess makes me an ambassador. I have always asked more questions than is ever good for me. When I was young I had the chance to visit both Cape Canaveral and Sea World Orlando which were both key moments in my love for science. As I graduated 8th grade, I was accepted into the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, a public high school specializing in science and math. Of course, if I hadn’t yet loved science and the water, I was about to seal-the-deal being immersed in it for 4 years. I studied Marine Science at Stony Brook University. I have achieved PADI Divemaster in my SCUBA career. But none of that made me crazy about Barnegat Bay specifically.

There is a little house on an island in the middle of Barnegat Bay called the Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center run by NJ Fish and Wildlife, a division of DEP. It is just inside the Barnegat inlet where the ocean breathes salt water into the bay. I had been there once as a freshman in high school and it had made an impression on me, but years went by and I hadn’t thought of it. At the end of my summer internship at Jenkinson’s Aquarium while still in college, I discovered Sedge again and the opportunity to intern there.

I just barely got chosen among many applicants. None-the-less, I was forever changed that summer. I spent multiple five day stretches on that island showing middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults how to boat, harvest, and identify the bounty of the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone within Barnegat Bay. The magic of being completely immersed in the marsh surrounded by sunshine, fish hawks, salty air, the lighthouse and stars at night is enough to convert anyone. You can’t breathe in this magic and not feel compelled to stop the destruction and degradation of a place that you love.

That was in 2012. Since then I have dedicated my career to Barnegat Bay and the surrounding watershed piecemealing part time hours into a full time work week. I have worked at some point with the NJDEP AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors serving the Barnegat Bay Watershed, Ocean County Parks and Recreation, Island Beach State Park, Jenkinson’s Aquarium, Barnegat Bay Partnership, Barnegat Bay Master Naturalists, volunteered with Master Composters and the Berkeley Township Underwater Search and Rescue Team, and finally landing full time at Save Barnegat Bay. While finishing my time in Long Island, NY I interned with 2 departments at Long Island Aquarium including marine mammals and aquarists and in addition I interned with the seal rescue team for the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation. Through all of that, I found that I have a knack for being an educator.

I have dedicated my life to conservation, as our behaviors have greatly affected every element of our planet. In that effort, educating about our precious and fragile estuarine habitats has taken high priority because of my love for Barnegat Bay.

So in the posts to come, I hope that you can trust my experience, research, and passion as a reliable source for good info.

And what about that whole mermaid thing? I had already been a SCUBA diver when I discovered the professional mermaid industry and was immediately intrigued and curious. Years later I met someone in my community pursuing professional mermaid gigs and allowed me to try her custom tail on. It was seconds before I knew I would be ordering one of my own. Three years later I have a custom made silicone Spellbound Aquarius tail and Fantasea Too Parrotfish fabric tail both from Mertailor. I perform regularly at Jenkinson’s Aquarium and I am the owner and founder of Barnegat Bay Mermaid. Swimming and performing underwater is invigorating and has only allowed me another platform to connect the love of mermaids to the magic of Barnegat Bay. Keep an eye out on the bay, you never know when you’ll catch a glimpse of my fluke ;). -Brizo

Just a Mermaid