Ahead of UN Ocean conference, mermaids call for ocean protection in Portugal climate protest

The small group of demonstrators also carried signs that said, 'As the sea dies, we die' and 'No more fish in the sea'.

"They talk about their grandchildren, they talk about future generations, but they still do nothing. And unless they do something, nothing is going to change, and everything is going to continue on this terrible trajectory to three degrees or more and an totally uninhabitable planet," protester Sophie Miller told Reuters.

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The UN summit, which begins on Monday, is anticipated to draw about 7,000 participants, including heads of state and environmental campaigners. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was moved from 2020 to this year.

The 2022 UN Ocean Conference will be held in Altice Arena, Lisbon, Portugal from 27 Jun - 1 Jul 2022.

(Image courtesy: Screengrab/Reuters)

"If they fail to act, we are going to lose our chance, we're going to lose our chance, all life on Earth will lose its chance, like these dead merfolk that we have here that represents sea life that’s died," one of the protestors told Reuters.

"Since I was born 50% of ocean life has died, and if we don’t, if the people who have the power to act now don’t, then that’s going to continue. We are losing coral at a ridiculous rate, ocean degradation is huge. We are here to make a performance, make a statement that visually communicates that."

(Image courtesy: Screengrab/Reuters)

Over half of the world's oxygen is produced by the ocean, which also absorbs 25 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. However, climate change is raising the ocean's temperature and raising sea levels.

(Image courtesy: Screengrab/Reuters)

If manufacture and usage of throwaway items are not curbed, 11 million metric tonnes of plastic would wind up in the ocean every year by 2040, according to numerous scientific studies.

(Image courtesy: Screengrab/Reuters)