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Hannah can hold her breath for up to two minutes and swim to depths of 45 feet, allowing her to move like a real mermaid, without the restraints of diving gear. Hannah and her then husband Dave Rastovich, a surfer, were upset and frustrated after International Whaling Commission meetings where whaling nations were allowed to continue their slaughter under the guise of "scientific research". "It was depressing and we wanted to go somewhere to connect with the whales and to raise awareness," the Daily Mail quoted Hannah as saying. The couple flew to Tonga with photographer Ted Grambeau, who was able to capture beautiful images of humpbacks swimming with Hannah, in scenes documented by filmmaker Bali Strickland. "‘A baby humpback was curious and actually came up to me. "The whales were singing so loudly and the baby whale was squealing, which sounds even louder under the water. It was a very powerful experience," she said. Many photographs for anti-whaling campaigns show brutal acts, including harpooning and whales being winched onto ships, which can be, too, horrific for ordinary observers. But Ted’s images appear in the children’s book, The Surfer and the Mermaid, and aim to inspire whale conservation. "All the shots of Hannah are really poetic — really just surreal, beautiful shots," he said. In 2007, Hannah swam in the sea in Taiji, Japan, with 30 surfers, celebrities and musicians, in an attempt to halt the ruthless slaughter of thousands of dolphins by local fishermen. "Half of the dolphins had been caught and the others were roped off in the middle of the bay to be herded towards the fishermen," Hannah said. "Instead of being frightened, the dolphins were trying to come closer to us in their net, as if they knew we wanted to help them. "But at this point, the fishermen were hitting us with sticks and moving their boat propellers towards us. We couldn’t get any closer and we couldn’t save the dolphins. "It was indescribable to see this happening and have to abandon them. I cried for hours afterwards. It was hard to be part of the human race at the point," she said. Two years later, in 2009, Hannah swam in her tail with 14-ft great white sharks off Guadalupe Island, Mexico. "I thought if I was going to be a professional mermaid, I’d have to face my fear of sharks," she said. After trying out the shark-infested waters in scuba gear, Hannah was about to put on her mermaid tail, when one of the sharks became trapped in the diver’s cage. "Luckily, the shark freed itself in time. But it made me realise that it was safer not to use the cage. "I got my tail on and got into the water. I was supposed to be surrounded by divers, but in the mermaid tail, I swim much faster than anyone else. I realised that I was on my own but I stayed calm. "Another time, a shark turned round and came towards me, so I made a scary face and screamed at it in the water. Amazingly, I scared it off. I felt invincible for months afterwards," she added. — ANI
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