Also, a mermaid's kiss seems to confer not just the ability to survive underwater, but long life as well - the sailor they find at the very beginning of the film had obviously been living with mermaids since his ship ended up on that cliff... I have been unable to decide if he died because he'd been fished up, either - does the mermaid's kiss mean you choose life under water and give up life above water? Just my two penn'orth!