The Real Little Mermaid: This Black Woman Is Diving To Preserve Coral Reefs — And Black History

BY JANNA A. ZINZI via https://www.essence.com/

AS ONE OF THE VERY FEW BLACK FEMALE MARINE ECOLOGISTS, BAHAMIAN CLIMATE ADVOCATE ALANNAH VELLACOTT IS MAKING A SPLASH TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE AND REPRESENTATION.

This story is featured in the September/October issue of ESSENCE, on newsstands now.

“The ocean is for everyone,” states Alannah Vellacott, 33, after a morning of snorkeling amid thriving and vibrant coral that borders stark white-reef graveyards. As she playfully dived and gracefully glided through the shimmering canals of Grand Bahama Island, pointing out the diverse species, the depths of her passion were as crystal-clear as the water.  This “born, bred and Bahamian” marine ecologist, a real-life Black “Little Mermaid,” is on a mission to protect the ocean and the waters that raised her. “The ocean is in need of everyone,” she stresses.   

For over a decade, Vellacott has been working in marine research, conservation and education in the Bahamas; she is now the coral-restoration specialist at Coral Vita, the world’s first commercial, land-based coral farm for reef restoration. To help coral “live their best life,” her tasks vary from cleaning algae off the sessile organisms growing at the…mnvbvbvbvbbvvbvbbvvbvbbvnbnbbnnbnbnbnbbnnbnb

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