Peter's Fish

 

The northern shore of the Lake of Galilee is a favorite haunt of tilapia galilaea, today called Peter's fish, a culinary favorite then as now. Tilapia is found in nature only here and in the lakes of eastern Africa, such as Lake Victoria. Both regions belong to the Syro-African rift valley, and there may have been a time (before the rising of the land and the formation of the Dead Sea) when these bodies of fresh water were connected. If this fish is of African origin, we can understand its preference for the northern shore: the springs at Tabgha are warm.