top of page
Search

Featured Article: Ancient Technology in the Torres Strait: Sustaining Culture and Sea🌊

By Loretta Pele Glanville — The Journal of Ocean Technology, 2025


The PuipiKak Malu Indigenous Corporation proudly highlights this powerful article that celebrates one of the Torres Strait’s oldest engineering innovations — the ancient stone fishing traps of Zenadth Kes. Loretta Pele Glanville’s work reveals how these structures, built with deep cultural knowledge and ecological understanding, continue to offer lessons for today’s changing world.


Why This Matters


The article shows how stone fish traps are far more than harvesting tools — they are cultural markers, community teachings, and natural coastal protectors. Their design enhances the marine environment rather than harming it, echoing our belief in working with the sea, not against it.


Key Insights from the Article


  • The traps act as natural breakwaters, protecting coastlines and marine habitats.

  • They demonstrate generational knowledge of tides, species behaviour, and sustainability.

  • They model an ethic of taking only what is needed and maintaining balance.

  • Modern conservation efforts — such as adding coral seeding and oyster nurseries — could transform these traps into living reefs.

  • Revitalising traps strengthens culture, youth training, and intergenerational mentorship.

  • They remind us that ancient knowledge offers real solutions to climate threats, food security, and ecological restoration.


A Message for Today


These stone traps stand as teachings written in reef and saltwater — showing that when communities partner with nature, the benefits ripple far beyond the tide. The PuipiKak Malu Indigenous Corporation shares this vision and supports efforts that honour culture, empower youth, and restore sea country for future generations.





 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page