During the Age of Exploration, ships sailed all over the world. They found strange lands and people and encountered a lot of mermaids. In fact, between 1610 and 1784, there were so many documented reports of merpeople that we now have an interactive map of these sightings. This just proves that they exist. I guess it could also prove that sailors were horny and would see mermaid boobs on every sea lion.
via Neatorama