Bunna, Dorcas, Robbie and Lily Belong to the Mirning People of Southern Australia

Earlier this year, the Great Australian Bight in southern Australia was hit by an algal bloom that lasted several months. The toxic algae killed sharks, crabs and octopuses, and spread very close to the world’s largest sanctuary for whales.

‘This is an important warning sign,’ says Lily Miller-Lampard.

The Great Australian Bight is one of the world’s greatest marine centres of biodiversity. The whales are the Mirnings totem and they speak of them as their family. Elder Bunna asks us to imagine a world without whales, without creatures in the Ocean. “Mirning” means listen, learn, understand and observe for wisdom and knowledge – and they implore the leaders and people of COP to listen to the indigenous people.

This report is part of the documentary ‘Voices of our Ocean’, which is being shown in connection with the UN’s ongoing climate summit in Brazil. In their own words and with selected images, they talk about their relationship with the sea, the urgent need to protect it and how climate change is affecting and transforming their lives. Hear each of them share their story.