This new Patagonia film spotlights the Torres Strait activists protecting their homelands from rising tides

The islands of Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait, between Australia and Papua New Guinea, are under threat. If urgent action isn’t taken to mitigate the impacts of climate change, they may become uninhabitable within 30 years, forcing locals to leave the home they’ve cared for thousands of years. 

Sea Country—Malu Lag, a new short film by Patagonia, follows Tishiko ‘Tish’ King, a climate justice defender, marine biologist and Kulkalaig woman from the island of Masig, as she advocates for the future of her people, their home, and their way of life. King says she feels a responsibility to use her education to protect her homeland, even though the weight of that task can feel crushing.

“What happens domestically, policy in our own country is dictated by international relations,” says King. “So I have a responsibility, for my people, and for my culture, to use my education to be able to come into these spaces and advocate.”

There are over 150 islands in Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait. Coral bleaching, erosion, and king tides have already made it more challenging to fish and survive there. The Australian government is largely to blame, according to the United Nations. In 2022, the UN Human Rights Committee heard a petition from Torres Strait residents who claimed the Australian government had violated their rights by failing to reduce and reverse its own environmental damage.

In a landmark, world-first response, the committee determined the residents were right: Australia had violated rights by failing to address the impact of climate change. Sea Country is more than just home to islanders, King says: “It is a hospital. It’s our teacher. It’s that interconnection of what makes us island people. It is life as we know it.”

“We have been here for over 65,000 years, caring and protecting our region for millennia,” King says in the film. “Torres Strait Island people live intrinsically with the ocean, the land, and the sky. That is our responsibility: To look after her, so she can look after us.”

“Our oceans are not only vital to the health of our planet, but they are also a legacy we must protect for future generations.”

- Dane O’Shanassy, Patagonia Australia country director

Sea Country—Malu Lag is the final film in Patagonia’s ‘Marine Life’ series, which includes eight short films highlighting activists who are working to preserve biodiversity in the oceans and protect the communities that rely upon them.

Other films in the series include Hot Pink Dolphins, on a group of hot pink jumpsuit-wearing activists who rock out to K-pop while helping captive dolphins return to the wild in the protected waters of Jeju Island, South Korea and Totoganashi, which follows pro surfer Yusei Ikariyama as he fights against industrialization threatening the coastline of the Japanese island where he grew up.

“Our oceans are not only vital to the health of our planet, but they are also a legacy we must protect for future generations,” Dane O’Shanassy, country director of Patagonia Australia, said. “We are honored to share Tish’s story and highlight the leadership and advocacy of First Nations peoples as custodians of Malu Lag / Sea Country.”

To watch the film, learn more about First Nations leadership in ocean protection, and sign a petition for Australia to protect 30 per cent of its ocean by 2030, head to Patagonia.

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