Among the many creative Halloween decorations I saw last week was a skeleton sitting in a lawn chair with a mask and snorkel. It was so simple and so funny. It reminded me of a topic I had wanted to write about people who used their “costumes” to protest the release of wastewater from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant into the waters where they make their living. These are the haenyeo — the true mermaids of the sea — who live on a remote island off of Korea practicing the art of freediving for food from the sea in much the same way they have for hundreds if not thousands of generations.
This tradition of free diving on the island of Jeju began as early as 434 A.D., according to some historians. But the community of female divers didn’t begin to take shape until the 17th century and started with women who dived with their husbands. Not long after these women learned the skills they needed to harvest seafood like urchins and abalone, they built their own community that not only involved working together but also supporting each other and training the next generation. And this next generation can be very young — as young as some of last week’s trick-or-treaters.
Young girls can start training to be haenyeo starting at 11 years old in shallow waters with guidance from the older haenyeo. They work their way up to deeper waters as they advance from haggun to junggun to sanggun — the teacher level, which typically takes five to seven years. One of the many amazing things about his tradition is the span of ages involved in keeping it alive. Women can continue to dive into their 80s!
What they undertake as divers is no small feat. These women dive without oxygen down to 65 feet, holding their breath while they collect a variety of species from urchins to sea squirts into their harvest bags before resurfacing. Their work days are long — up to seven hours every day for several months every year. Now, haenyeo wear wetsuits, but they used to dive without them for hours at a time. Perhaps in part because the work is hard, the community of women is tight and supports each other on and off the water.
The haenyeo tradition has gained a greater appreciation from the community, which organizes several annual events, as well as the Korean government, which has given haenyeo exclusive rights to sell fresh seafood and helped them to be added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Part of this respect comes from a celebration of and respect for the knowledge they have of the local marine environment. Because they are in the water for so many hours and see marine life up close, as with many who harvest from the sea, these women are excellent observers of shifts in the ecosystem from changes in species types and abundance to marine debris and water quality. Their protest against the Fukushima water release, though not successful, is a testament to their environmental commitment.
To tie this back to Maine, it is always heartening to discover traditions and places that celebrate both the marine environment as well as those who work as harvesters of its resources and to think of how we can draw from these traditions ways that we can better celebrate what we have here on our coast.
If you’re interested in learning more about these amazing women, there are several books and documentaries that tell about their lives including “The Last of the Sea Women,” which I highly recommend and which inspired this column.
Susan Olcott is the director of strategic partnerships at Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.