Sea of Galilee gets 600,000 fresh fish

Six hundred thousand tilapia fish are finding a new home in the Sea of Galilee this week as the Agriculture Ministry attempts to boost the lake’s dwindling fish population.

The fish aren’t only expected to increase the lake’s biodiversity, but also to clear its waters of toxins originating in seaweed – the tilapias’ food source – and act as biofilters to balance out the lake’s ecosystem.

Tilapia are introduced en masse into the Sea of Galilee by the Agriculture Ministry each year.

This year, the fish were raised in pools located in Kibbutz Ginosar for four months.

They were being transferred from the pools to the Sea of Galilee this week.

Some 300,000 silver carp will also be introduced this week, while an additional 400,000 tilapia will be introduced in October.