St. Peter’s fish is said to be found naturally in only two places: the Sea of Galilee and Lake Victoria at the headwaters of the Nile.
It’s called St. Peter’s fish because of the following passage:
“When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, ‘Does you teacher pay the tax?’ ….Go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that bites. Open its mouth and there you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
Matthew 17: 24-27
This type of fish which you may know as Tilapia is called a mother mouth-breeder. Because it breeds its babies in its mouth, the fish is often caught by fishermen with a little pebble, a bottletop, or even a small coin like a shekel in its mouth. Jesus and the disciples probably ate St. Peter’s fish when they were living at Peter’s mother-in-law’s house at Capernuam. It may have been two St. Peter’s fish along with five loaves that fed the 5,000 men plus women and children on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
You will have an opportunity to taste St. Peter’s fish on your tour. Don’t miss it – you may even find a shekel in its mouth!