Nyola

Just beyond this campfire lies the Warren River which runs through a beautiful stretch of Karri country. At night we would go to the banks of the river with a torch and see what kind of company the waters had to offer. The shallows were bustling with an abundance of life. Among many other kin, we caught a glimpse of several cobbler fish, also referred to as nyola in Noongar language. I recall a Noongar elder once described them as looking like a catfish with an eagle’s tail. Nyola were a staple food source in the traditional diet here, typically caught with a spear, by hand, in traps, weirs and through utilising plant-derived poison to subdue the fish before catching them. There are also tales of folks lighting fires on the riverbanks to lure fish into shallower waters. Another notable species we saw was the marron, who were too numerous to count. The marron is a freshwater crayfish endemic to the South West of Western Australia. Both species remain traditional food sources and both thrive in highly oxygenated waters where riparian zones are intact. 
It is life like this that is so animate, so robust and yet so fragile.