PETA is taking on meatless Fridays.

To support the effort, a "nearly naked" mermaid will swim into the city Tuesday.

I get a big kick out of this. I certainly am not taking sides with any organization, nor do I object to anyone earning a living.
But I do support efforts to educate people about the reality of what we eat.

"Wearing little more than "fins," a sexy PETA member will dress as a topless mermaid on Tuesday to encourage New Haven residents to make one more type of flesh off-limits on Fridays during Lent (or any other time): fish," the organization said in a press release.

"PETA's mermaid will appear outside a popular fish market and hold signs that read, "Fish Are Friends, Not Food" and 'Fishing Hurts,'" the release said.
"People who are already leaving meat off their plates for religious reasons know that it's really no big sacrifice, so we're asking them to cut fish some slack too," PETA campaigner Lauren Stroyeck said in the release. "Fish might not be cute and cuddly, but when it comes to feeling pain and having a will to live, they're just like all other animals."

Will bringing sex - or just sexiness - draw attention to this issue? Probably. Is this right?
Who knows.
But I do know we overfish the Earth and everyone should know about it.

Plus, consider that PETA said in their release: "Scientific studies show that fish are intelligent, sensitive animals who experience pain and fear when they are hooked or netted and pulled from the water. A recent issue of the journal Fish and Fisheries cited more than 500 research papers on fish intelligence proving that fish are smart, can use tools, and have impressive long-term memories and sophisticated social structures."

That sounds pretty cute and cuddly to me.

In case you go, the mermaid will appear outside the State Fish Farm Market, 892 State St. at noon Tuesday, March 29.

For information, visit PETA.org or FishingHurts.com.