Resoures
Mermaid Safety
Safety Comes Before Performance
Mermaiding combines swimming, breath-hold, monofin use, underwater movement and specialised equipment. Whether someone is swimming recreationally, training, performing or competing, these activities require appropriate skills, supervision and preparation.
At Aqua Mami International, safety is part of the training process from the beginning. Participants develop their skills progressively and should only move into more demanding environments when they have the appropriate competency and experience.
Our approach is based on a simple principle:
No performance, photograph, competition result or breath-hold is worth compromising safety.
The Australian Mermaid Safety Report 2027 proposes the same competency-based approach: participants should develop the necessary knowledge and skills before progressing into higher-risk environments.
Our Safety Principles
Competence Before Progression
Mermaid skills should be developed progressively. Swimming ability, water confidence and basic equipment control come before advanced underwater skills, depth, open water and performance.
Buddy & Supervision
Underwater breath-hold activities should not be practised alone. Appropriate buddy procedures, supervision and safety support should be used for the activity being undertaken.
Safety Before Performance
Longer breath-holds, difficult choreography, photography or competition goals should never take priority over a participant’s safety.
Environment-Specific Training
A swimming pool, beach, open water site, performance tank and aquarium are different environments. Each has different hazards and requires appropriate preparation, competency and emergency planning.
Equipment Safety
Mermaid tails, monofins, costumes and performance props should be suitable for the participant and checked before use. Participants should know how their equipment works and how to remove it when necessary.
Emergency Preparedness
Instructors and safety personnel should understand the emergency procedures for the location and have appropriate rescue and communication procedures in place.
These principles are consistent with the proposed Australian Mermaid Safety Framework, which links progression to competency, environment and increasing rescue requirements.
Before Swimming in a Mermaid Tail
A mermaid tail restricts independent leg movement and changes the way a swimmer moves through the water. Participants should have appropriate swimming ability and water confidence before using a tail or monofin.
Before a session, equipment should be checked for correct fit, damage and potential entanglement hazards. The Australian Mermaid Safety Report 2027 recommends checking the condition and fit of tails and monofins and ensuring that performance equipment has no unsafe attachment points, sharp edges or entanglement hazards.
Participants should also learn basic safety skills such as controlled surface recovery, buddy procedures, safe pool entry and exit, tail removal and self-rescue before progressing to more advanced activities.
Breath-Hold Safety
Breath-hold is used in underwater dance, mermaid performance, photography and competition, but it carries risks including hypoxia, loss of consciousness, shallow-water blackout, panic and underwater disorientation.
At Aqua Mami International, breath-hold is treated as a safety skill as well as a performance skill. Training should be supervised, appropriate to the participant’s ability and followed by suitable recovery and rest.
Never practise underwater breath-hold alone.
Training for the Environment
Mermaid safety is not one-size-fits-all.
Pool Training develops swimming competency, monofin and tail control, buddy procedures, equipment awareness and self-rescue.
Performance & Competition add considerations such as repetitive dives, fatigue, choreography, communication and emergency procedures.
Open Water requires awareness of currents, weather, visibility, environmental hazards, entry and exit points, surface support and emergency signalling.
Aquarium & Deep-Water Performance requires advanced competency, equalisation, communication with safety personnel and site-specific emergency and extraction procedures.
The proposed framework separates these environments because increasing environmental complexity requires corresponding increases in training, supervision and rescue competency.
Children & Mermaid Safety
Children’s mermaid activities should be appropriate to the child’s age, swimming ability, experience and level of development.
Programs involving children should consider swimming competency, active supervision, appropriate instructor-to-participant ratios, suitable equipment, parental or guardian consent and child safeguarding requirements.
Depth and breath-hold activities should only be introduced when appropriate for the individual participant’s age, maturity, swimming ability and training experience.
Australian Mermaid Safety Framework
Aqua Mami International is developing the Australian Mermaid Safety Framework (AMSF) through the Australian Mermaid Safety Report 2027.
The proposed framework uses competency-based progression so that training and safety requirements increase as participants move into more complex aquatic environments.
Level 0 — Recreational Mermaid
Water confidence, safety briefing, supervision and basic equipment knowledge.
Level 1 — Pool Mermaid
Swimming competency, monofin and tail handling, buddy procedures, surface recovery and self-rescue.
Level 2 — Performance Mermaid
Performance stamina, repetitive-dive management, communication, fatigue management and performance emergency awareness.
Level 3 — Open Water Mermaid
Environmental awareness, weather and current assessment, surface signalling, buddy procedures and open-water emergency awareness.
Level 4 — Aquarium Mermaid
Advanced breath-hold and equalisation competency, deep-water confidence, safety-diver communication and site-specific emergency procedures.
Level 5 — Safety Diver / Mermaid Instructor Assistant
Aquatic rescue, blackout response, risk assessment, emergency response, incident management and participant supervision.
About the Framework
The Australian Mermaid Safety Framework is currently a proposed voluntary industry guidance framework. It is not an Australian regulatory standard, certification scheme or legislative requirement.
It is intended to complement existing Australian laws, aquatic facility requirements and recognised training systems by providing guidance specific to recreational mermaiding, training, competition and professional performance.
Australian Mermaid Safety Report 2027
A Risk Management Framework for Mermaid Activities, Training and Performance in Australia
Prepared by Yau Tsang
Founder, Aqua Mami International
Regional Director, MFI Australia Region
The report examines safety across recreational mermaiding, training, competition, underwater performance, water tanks, open water, aquariums and children’s programs. It covers risk identification, emergency planning, instructor and safety-diver competency, participant progression and incident reporting.
[Read the Australian Mermaid Safety Report 2027]
[Download Full Report – PDF]
Risk Assessment
Incident Reporting
