NOAA and the US deny the existence of mermaids.

[Blondie]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/noaa-issues-statement-denying-existence-mermaids-195027537.html

http://news.yahoo.com/no-mermaids-us-government-212628320.html;_ylt=Amh9e5krtgn32wsDZGk6QQPtiBIF;_ ylu=X3oDMTMya2wydmFtBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIFJlbGF0ZWQgSU IEcGtnAzhkNTIyNTg5LTYyNzItM2NjNi04YjNjLWY1YmQ1MDA5 ZjU0OARwb3MDMgRzZWMDTWVkaWFJbmZpbml0ZUJyb3dzZQR2ZX ID;_ylg=X3oDMTM0OHN0NWxnBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cw Rwc3RhaWQDNTMwNmUzZjItNDM4MS0zMzZiLTliODMtMzU0MWQx MWNjYzY2BHBzdGNhdANibG9nc3x0aGVzaWRlc2hvdwRwdANzdG 9yeXBhZ2U-;_ylv=3

I don't think they're very good articles. It's sort of like saying, "They're not real because...Because I said so!"

[AniaR]

it was a response to so many people contacting them not understanding it was a MOCKumentary on animal planet

[Merman Dan]

My 11-year old son is very literal. If he cannot see it, it cannot exist (He had a royal fit about molecules, years ago).
My 8-year old daughter set traps for leprechauns, the night before St. Patty's Day.
As a D&D player with a vivid imagination, I have a rather large "willing sense of disbelief".

I side with the "just because you have never seen one, does not mean it does not exist" camp. But then again I believe in ghosts, UFOs, Atlantis, Nessie, Bigfoot, and fairies.

Yeah, by the end of the mockumentary, I knew Mermaids: A Body Found was embellished fiction. However, now I want to see it made into a regular series on the Syfy Channel!

[spottedcatfish]

I just posted some information in the thread for the Mockumentary. It can be found here: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1911-the-animal-planet-mermaid-mocumentary-is-airing!&p=28669#post28669

I enjoy living with a willingness to suspend disbeleif, but I have to say this statement ruined my day!

[deepblue]

Well, to be fair, the statement says "No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found," Reading more into that is going to put words in their mouths. The statement itself was very nicely put, not insulting anyone who believes mermaids are real, and not pointing fingers. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mermaids.html