Mermaids Are Real, and They Live in Trinidad

By Kenia Marcano, 2024-2025 World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council Member 

There’s a moment in every ocean advocate’s life when the sea stops being just water and
the waves become something more – something personal.

For me, that moment happened when I was a child, standing on the shores of Trinidad,
watching the ocean breathe. The tide rolled in, then out, each wave carrying stories older
than time itself. I felt an undeniable pull, like the sea was calling me home. I didn’t know it
then, but that moment set the course of my life.

Growing up, I was always drawn to the ocean. Spending hours on end at the beach. The
only way I ever left was if my parents dragged me out – usually sunburnt, sandy and
protesting the whole way.Despite where I was in the world, it was the one thing I always
loved.

You see, my childhood wasn’t spent in just one place. I had a unique upbringing, living
across six different countries throughout my life. I was born in Ecuador, then lived in
Trinidad, the U.S, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Australia. Growing up across different
regions of the world shaped my perspective in a way that few experiences can. It showed
me the various ways different countries prioritize, appreciate and interact with the ocean.

Through it all, my family and I always made sure to visit Trinidad and Tobago at least once a
year. This allowed me to have a unique outsider’s perspective on my home country. It
allowed me to see both its untapped potential and its shortcomings. The very factors other
nations longed for, the missing pieces to their full potential, were right here in our own
backyard. And in the same breath, the problems we faced I saw other countries so easily
solve. This paradise that others only experience on vacation, was our permanent home. It
made me question: if we have everything we need, why haven’t we unlocked our full
potential?

Every year we visited, I began to notice more and more the overwhelming amount of plastic
and styrofoam being used. Single items were handed out in plastic bags without a second
thought, insurmountable amounts of plastic bottles littered major roadways and beaches,
and restaurants served meals in single use containers even when dinning in. It didn’t seem
to be improving, if anything, it seemed to be increasing with every year that passed.

Despite my love for the ocean, I never saw advocacy as a path to take. My whole life I
always had a love for science but I never knew the specific field I wanted to pursue. It wasn’t
until my junior year of high school, where I was given the task of writing an essay of my
choice, that I decided to write it on the overuse of plastic and styrofoam in my home nation of
Trinidad and Tobago. I went into it completely blind. The observations I made could have
very much been misleading vividness or anecdotal fallacy. However, it was far from it.

As a part of my investigation I conducted an interview with the manager of the Environmental
Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago where I was also given access to their private
library. It was here that I found some starking facts. One of which being that Trinidad and
Tobago, our small island with a population of approximately 1.4 million people at the time,
produced more than double the waste of that of the United States on a per person basis.
That on a daily basis we produced about 1.5 kilograms of plastic waste per capita, making it
one of the largest plastic polluters per capita worldwide.

Our tiny island nation, which only appears as a dot on the world map, was producing more
waste than one of the largest countries on Earth.

Discovering this information made me realize how dire the situation was and how little my
nation knew about it. Seeing the evidence first hand, made it impossible to turn away. And
so I didn’t. Instead, I dove in. This made me want to be the one to learn about our oceans,
report about it and be the one to lead change within Trinidad and Tobago.

This lead me to study Marine Science in which I got accepted to study at the University of
New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. It was there that I was eager to make the most out of
the opportunities and society that were significantly more climate cautious and ocean
positive than anywhere I had ever been. It was through this that I became an Ocean Youth
ambassador, attended events such as Innovocean that fueled my passion for ocean
innovation, entrepreneurship and much more. However, as much as I enjoyed being part of
this new found community that I had found myself in ocean entrepreneurs and innovators. I
couldn’t help but think why I began this journey to begin with. And that was to take all this
new found knowledge I had to improve my home country.

Similarly to Australia, in Trinidad and Tobago, the ocean isn’t just a topic of discussion – it’s
woven into our culture, our economy and our daily lives. The difference being that despite
our deep connection to the sea, the challenges it faces are often overlooked. But this is
precisely what keeps me pushing forward.

Some days, advocacy feels like swimming against the tide. The problems are massive, and
change is slow. But then, there are moments that remind me why I do this. Seeing young
people light up when they learn about the ocean’s role in our climate, watching small
businesses consider sustainable alternatives, hearing someone say “I never thought about it
that way before”. These are the ripples that turn into waves.

Through it all, the ocean remains my constant. When things are overwhelming, I go back to
the water, dive deep beneath the surface and remember why I started. The ocean has given
me everything. Purpose, passion, and a deep sense of belonging. As long as I have a voice,
I’ll use it to fight for the sea, for the islands I call home, and for generations to come.

So yes, mermaids are real.

They live in Trinidad, in every person who feels the ocean’s pull and in everyone who
answers to its call.