Nageg (Triggerfish): As told by Aunty Sarah
04 Nageg (Triggerfish) Aunty Sarah.mp3 (1884 KB) 
A Triggerfish is displayed in the Inquiry Centre at Queensland Museum South Bank.
Transcript
My name is Aunty Sarah and I’m from the far Eastern side of the Torres Strait Islands. My island is called Mer, or Murray Island.
I was born on Thursday Island, and brought up on Horne Island, which is my father’s Island, and my grandmother is a traditional owner there. I was also raised in Murray and some other islands in the Torres Strait, and on the mainland - from Bamaga to Weipa.
My descendents are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
*
Now I go tell you a story about Nageg – which is a Triggerfish. The word Nageg is Murray Island language.
The fish comes in many colours.
You can go fishing for it, but it’s more like hunting for it. Nageg lives in secret areas – not in the coral reef, but under rocks, coral rocks, or in a tunnel – and you must go hunting for it.
When you find the nageg in its tunnel, you need to quickly grab the fins, squeezing them down, and then you can bring out the fish. If you don’t grab the fins right, they will spring up, like a hook, and you could get caught. The fins will trap you. You pull and pull but you can’t pull your arm out of the fish’s tunnel.
You could get stuck there.
That is why we have to take a crow bar every time. We need the crow bar so that we can break the rock in case we get trapped – because it can be very dangerous if the tide comes in.
Once, my mother and auntie’s hands got caught in the nageg’s rock.
We cook the nageg on the fire, in the coals. It is very tasty and really nice to eat.
Download this transcript (49 KB) 
