Fish gotta swim, but parents should think twice before letting their kids don mermaid fins in the water, some experts say.

Wearable mermaid tails have become this summer’s must-have aquatic accessory, allowing kids and grown-ups alike to live out their Little Mermaid dreams.

But some recreation departments are growing concerned these fantasy fins could pose a safety risk to inexperienced swimmers.

At a conference for the Alberta Association of Recreation Facility Personnel at the end of April, the toys were a hot topic for debate, with some safety experts advising an outright ban, while others recommended a mermaid swim test.

Edmonton has forbidden mermaid tails in city-owned pools altogether, because they pose, a “serious safety risk to swimmers,” Christopher Webster, a representative for the city’s recreation department said in an email.

“Mermaid tails promote breath holding for long periods of underwater swimming, the risk of which is “shallow water blackouts” which can often lead to drowning,” Webster said.

“There is also significant risk to other swimmers who might be pulled under if the wearer of the mermaid tails finds themselves in trouble and panics.”

But in Ontario, the imaginative water toy is causing less of a commotion.

City of Toronto pools currently have no policy regarding mermaid tails, and Aydin Sarrafzadeh, the city’s aquatics manager, said they are not that common yet.

“At this time, we have no intention of banning them,” Sarrafzadeh said, adding that they should not be used in crowded pools.

Almost all pools in Ontario make children take a swim test before they’re allowed to swim without a parent or guardian, says Michael Shane, the safety management director for the Lifesaving Society of Ontario.

Shane says that he doesn’t think it’s necessary to outright ban mermaid tails, but that kids should be able to pass the swim test with them on.

“If they can pass the test, then by all means, they should be welcome in the pool,” he said.

When it comes to splashing around in the backyard pool or at the cottage on the weekend, Shane recommends parents impose their own at-home swim test with the mermaid tails on.

“It might be two lengths of the pool and tread water for a minute or two with the mermaid tail on. If they can accomplish that skill, then they should be able to use it,” he said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

But that’s no excuse to leave kids unattended, he warned.

“Parental supervision while children are in the pool is paramount,” he said.