The Hunter's Guide to Monsters - Chapter Twelve

As fragile creatures that can only survive on a warm patch of land with air to breath, the sea still remains shrouded in mysteries. But tonight, we fish up some of the more unusual beasts that dwell beneath the waves... one of the fish-people that we call a 'MERMAID':

Mermaid /'mermayd/ n. 1. An imaginary female sea creature with the head and body of a woman and the tail of a fish.


12. Merfolk
  by Hunter Jeremiah

Merfolk both are, and are not, like the myths that surround them. A mermaid is, in fact, a water-dwelling creature of astounding beauty, with the tail of a fish and the upper body like a young girl, and they have been known to use their beauty to lure young men into the water. However, a mermaid is only a female merfellow and merfolk are very much a sexually dimorphic animal. A male merfellow, also known as a merman or a mermaster, does have a human-shaped torso, but he is often much larger than a female, is covered in protective scales, has sharp claws for protection, has pointed teeth and has a prominent dorsal fin.
These two appear so different that for a long time it was believed they were two separate kinds of creature, but it has been confirmed by cryptozoological and microbiological study that they are the same species.
Like most sea-dwelling predators, the risk we face from merfolk is relatively small so long as you remain on land. However if you venture near inhabited waters, either ashore or in a boat, then you risk seeing why these creatures are considered mythical. If you venture near the water's brink and see a virgin in the drink, don't dare to let your focus sink - or you may find yourself falling much deeper than in love with your sea-temptress.

Merfolk are found all over the world, especially in coastal areas, as they live in saltwater such as the seas, deep saltwater lakes and rivers & of course the ocean. They are known as jengu in Africa; ben-varrey, merrow or selkies in various parts of the British Isles; näck, neck, nikker, nixie or nøkken in northern parts of Europe gorgóna, ichthyocentaur, naiad or nereids in Greece; jiaoren, kuliltu or ningyo in the Orient; maneli in Persia; rusalki in Russia & sjövættir in Scandinavia.
There is a theory amongst cryptozoologists that mermaids share a common ancestor with the hydra, perhaps even with angels and centaurs. It's very possible, considering how much they share in common. However, how it happened is of no consequences, what matters is why it happened - these creatures look the way they do for the purpose of deception, hunting and protection, and they use their hands, beautiful features and human-like voice to serve those goals.
In fact, the mermaid's siren song is the most unusual facet of merfolk. To begin with, although mermaids do appear to have a form of speech, their siren song is a wordless, voiced song - and in fact it appears as though only mermaids are capable of a siren song, as mermen have never been recorded using it. Also, despite mermaids not possessing and psychic abilities or magic, their singing has been known to mesmerize those who hear it, and produce feelings of euphoria and recklessness in human, birds and most mammals. Magicians have confirmed that the siren song is not any form of sorcery, and acousticians are currently studying the effect; but, at time of writing, no explanation for the siren song's effects have been found.
It is for this reason that mermaids are popular on the black market, and one of the reasons why they may be found in areas where they would not naturally be found - of the dozen mermaids I've had to Hunt in my time, nine of them were bought in the black market by fools who didn't know what they were doing.

Merfolk are not deep-sea fish, but rather live just above it in the mesopelagic zone below 200-metre depths and above 1000-metre depths. This is also known as the twilight zone, as there is still some sunlight, but it is barely 1% of the luminosity at surface level, as merfolk cannot survive in the warmer surface waters. Merfolk tend to build themselves habitats on the sea floor - using their hands to either dig into the seabed, or build tools and structures out of materials they find, and the structures they build can have an unusual and beautiful architecture - such as the abandoned Castelo dos Corais discovered in the Atlantic.
Merfolk live in schools of between twenty and two-hundred individuals, usually one large family with a single breeding pair known as the king and queen. However, they are a social species, and when two colonies are nearby, they tend to interact, trade and hunt together in one interacting supercolony. Merfolk are omnivorous, often farming their own seaflora, and eating meat in the form of hunted fish, birds they can catch or animals they can lure from the shore to capture or kill using nets or spears.

A merfolk hunting party usually consists of less than a dozen mermaids with just one or two mermen. These groups either lash out quickly with nets and spears, or will lure in prey by having one or more of the mermaids act as bait, by sitting prone or singing, with her fellow hunters waiting just before the surface of the water.  Merfolks will only eat humans if they are foolish enough to be lured in by a hunting party on the shore, or if a school is desperate enough to try to snatch people out of boats or ships during a food shortage.

This is all useful information for a Hunter as any lake less than 200 metres deep, containing freshwater or without a viable food supply is unable to sustain merfolk life, and they are usually benign. But, most importantly, mermaids use tools and weapons, which can make them a more threatening creature to Hunt.

Protection
If you believe that there are mermaids living in a body of water near you, or you live near a shore where mermaids have been seen, here are some methods to keep safe:

• Darkest before Dawn - Merfolk tend to surface and hunt at night, so if you have reason to believe there are merfolk in a body of water near you, avoid the place at night.
• Do Your Homework - People who see beautiful women with scales or fish monsters tend not to keep it to themselves. So, check o your local history before you go fishing.
• Don't Stare, Get Out of There - Mermaids use their beauty to lure victims close to the water. So, if you see a mermaid, don't allow their glamour or siren song to mesmerize you.
• No Swimming - This goes without saying. Stay out of the monster's lair...
• Not a Mere Maid - Whatever you do, don't underestimate merfolk. Whilst they look young, small and pretty, they are both stronger and more intelligent than they appear.
• Play the Waiting Game - Merfolk can only hold their breath above water for thirty minutes. So, if you see a merfellow above water, it's a matter of time before it suffocates.
• Warning Siren - The effect of a mermaid's siren song is lessened by distance. So, if you can hear their song from a distance, you should ensure that you don't close that distance.

Hunting

Because merfolk live and breath in water, they cannot survive for much longer than thirty minutes out of the water. For this reason, you will never have to 'Find' your merfellow - they will be in the water, every time. Whilst you may have to head out in a boat or a ship at some point, they are not difficult to find. Whilst mermaids are not easy to locate in the ocean, that is their domain, so unless there are very severe circumstances, if a merfellow kills a land-dwelling creature that is in the ocean, it is considered a wild animal attack, and not a Hunter's responsibility. They're just creatures trying to live their lives, and so should be left alone.
In fact, there is very little hunting or tracking to be done, it's genuinely much like shooting fish in a barrel. Not that there's much shooting involved either, as most merfolk require catch and release. Most troublesome merfolk have either gotten lost or been sold on the black market, and aren't responsible for simply following their nature outside of their natural environment.
There are only two cases wherein you will need to Hunt down and kill a merfellow: Either when a merman is in heat and seeking out a mate from the human population; or when hunting parties are repeatedly attacking and killing people near the shore.

Capture
In cases wherein your merfellow simply needs to be relocated, your job will be to capture it and take it where it belongs. So, if you're going fishing for mermaids, You will Need:
"Hook" - This is your bait. In the past, Hunters may have used actual hooks to latch onto their prey, and whilst that is an effective desperate measure, these days we tend to be more civilized. Some hunters purchase fresh, whole fish (don't go getting fish fillets, as it makes merfolk skittish - they'd be wary of whatever cut it up). Some Hunters use their hunting animal to help them bait mermaids using hearing protection to save them from the siren song (you can purchase hearing protection for dogs, cats and other pets), but that is a risky option unless you can control your animal without voice commands. Personally, I like to go the cheap and dangerous option - I wear earplugs and I stand near the shore with my weapon sheathed just in case, and a net in hand. No matter what method you use, you should of course get some hearing protection.
"Line" - Almost every Hunter who captures mermaids uses a net, or ropes. I prefer a chain net, as mermaids can be easily injured by rope, and mermen can easily escape from a lasso. I have heard of Hunters who use tranquilizer darts, and some who even place the fish-meat bait in the middle of a tarp, and use either pulleys or co-ordinated manpower to wrap up their merfellow in a bundle.
"Sink" - Binding up your merfellow in a net is all well and good, but after being out of the water for half an hour, your live mermaid will become a dead mermaid. You may have to wait ten minutes or so, to have the mermaid weakened a little if it is struggling. But, otherwise, you will need a portable container of water to transport them. Specialty mermaid hunters will often have a specialized, reinforced aquarium, water truck or even a small, portable glass coffin. But, when I have been called to deal with merfolk, I use a relatively small rainwater tank that I've modified so that it's enclosed, and has a watertight lid. I can easily attach it to my trailer, and use a shallow boat ramp to fill the tank with sea water, being sure not to capture any dangerous sea life in the process (Note: remember to never use freshwater, as it will hurt your merfellow). I park this near the site where I will perform my capture, then once successful, I simply drag my net to the Sink, drop the creature inside, and seal the lid. Merfolk can usually breathe for up to three days with 100 gallons of fresh seawater (approx. 380 litres).

Some other equipment you might want to consider carrying would be armour, preferably lightweight in your limbs in case you go for a dip; your weapon of choice, something lethal in case things take a turn for the worse; a lifejacket or tether, in case something tries to drag you underwater; a torch, both to see at night, or to dazzle your merfellow; spare bait or food, if your journey to release the merfellow takes too long (merfolk eat half a kilo of meat, or a kilo of green plant matter, each day). & spare hearing protection, in case your own becomes wet, damaged or lost in the scuffle.

Kill
Merfolk are flesh-and-blood creatures, killing them is relatively simple, but it is always preferable to choose a more painless option.
The most humane way to kill a merfellow is to Decerebrate it, either with a very sharp harpoon or blade, or with a gun directed right into the brain, so as to quickly kill the creature. I have also heard of Hunters who essentially hit the creatures on the head so hard that they cause a traumatic brain injury, as a form of percussive stunning, however, this is difficult to do properly and there is a high risk of suffering if you fail, so I do not recommend it at all. The second-best option is to Decapitate them. This is simple if you've captured your creature, but would be very difficult, if the creature is struggling and flailing. For this reason, some hunters choose to capture, tranquilize, then behead dangerous merfolk. If you're low on options, you may simply choose to snap their neck, as that also can get the job done.
In desperate cases, these creatures might be left to Exsanguinate, and die from blood loss, or to Suffocate, however, I would warn heavily against either of these techniques. These are slow, needlessly cruel deaths and even if a Hunter could live with himself for committing an act like that, I would still worry for his soul.
Once killed, your mermaid body should be disposed of accordingly should either be returned to their pack or taken to your nearest Hunting authority to be dealt with accordingly.

Final Notes
The siren song of the mermaid is designed to fascinate and mesmerize. But, when some men see this natural wonder, they seek to covet it for themselves, to capture its beauty and bottle it up for themselves. This can lead to their death in the wild, and for those foolish enough to poach these creatures and possess them for themselves, they either end up causing harm to the creature, or to themselves.
You cannot domesticate natural beauty and glamour, you can only imprison it - and so the best thing anyone could ever do with a mermaid is to let it free, and walk away.