'Saltwater in my veins': fight to protect island homes

Perth Now

16-05-2025

Tishiko King remembers looking out into the ocean as a child, sitting with her grandfather on the steps of their home on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.
"He used to share that if you look after the ocean, the ocean will return you home," the Kulkalaig woman told AAP.
As a child, Ms King didn't quite understand what her grandfather's words meant, but now the 36-year-old marine biologist and self-proclaimed "ocean person" is acutely aware of her responsibility to protect the sea, islands and her community.
"I feel saltwater pumping through my veins - it's the essence of who I am and all the things I do," she said.
"I'm led by my spirit and at the heart of that is my love and deep connection to my island home and the saltwater."
Ms King has already seen the physical and cultural impacts climate change is having on the communities of the Torres Strait.
Rising sea levels have eroded shorelines, flooding islands and threatening homes while impacting burial sites and important ecosystems.
"I remember seeing sea grasses in this bay area (on Masig Island) and as we've seen our oceans warm, that sea grass has disintegrated and our dugong populations have relocated," she said.
"The dugong is one of my ocean totems."
While walking on Masig Island with traditional owner Yessie Mosby, Ms King recalls picking up the bones of ancestors whose burial places had been impacted by rising tides.
"Ice sheets are falling at a rate that is impacting these rising seas," she said.
"Our burial grounds are traditionally buried at the centre of our island."
Sea Country - Malu Lag follows Ms King's resolve to protect her island community.
A new documentary, Sea Country - Malu Lag, follows Ms King's journey from Australia to the United Nations Climate Change council in Dubai, fighting for the ocean and island home she loves.
Ms King worked with clothing brand Patagonia on the film, which also explores the leadership of community members like Mr Mosby as they grapple with the challenges of climate change.
"This is not something where it's in the future, we're seeing this now," Ms King said.
"Torres Strait Islander communities are at the front lines of this climate crisis and are experiencing climate injustices and facing this disproportionate impact, despite contributing the least to global emissions."
Ms King said it was a film for all ocean-lovers and Australians that drew attention to the impacts of climate change in our own backyard.
* Sea Country will be released online on Thursday.