How this real-life mermaid empowers ‘seatizens’ for marine conservation one shark pun at a time

Whether it’s grooving to “Thresher” (Bruno Mars’ Treasure) or making fin-tastic visuals on how ‘crazy rich’ the Philippine oceans are, Chief Mermaid Anna Oposa makes saving (and appreciating) the environment inviting for everyone.

Unlike mermaids in cartoons, Anna does more than singing on rocks and combing her beautiful locks. A lover of the seas and the arts, she combines these two in driving the current at Save Philippine Seas (SPS), a national environmental non-profit organization.

Formed in 2011 as a social media campaign against the illegal wildlife trade that killed 161 turtles in Southern Philippines, SPS has grown to become a “living movement” by making environmental conservation a part of Filipinos’ daily lives.