In August 2009 , the town of Kiryat Yam in Israel offered a prize of $ 1 million for anyone who could prove that mermaids existed off its coast , after dozens of people said they had seen a mermaid leaping out of the water like a dolphin and doing tricks in the air before returning back to where it had come from . In August 2009 , the town of Kiryat Yam in Israel offered a prize of $ 1 million for anyone who could prove the existence of a mermaid off its coast , after dozens of people reported seeing a mermaid leaping out of the water like a dolphin and doing aerial tricks before returning to the depths .