Nile perch Nile perch The Nile perch ("Lates niloticus") is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout much of the Afrotropic ecozone, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana, and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of Lake Maryut in Egypt. The Nile perch is a fish of substantial economic and food-security importance in East Africa. Originally described as "Labrus niloticus," among the marine wrasses, the species has also been referred to as "Centropomus niloticus". Common names include African snook, Victoria perch (a
Flooding of the Nile Flooding of the Nile The flooding of the Nile () has been an important natural cycle in Egypt since ancient times. It is celebrated by Egyptians as an annual holiday for two weeks starting August 15, known as "Wafaa El-Nil". It is also celebrated in the Coptic Church by ceremonially throwing a martyr's relic into the river, hence the name, The Martyr's Finger (, ). Ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile flooded every year because of Isis's tears of sorrow for her dead husband, Osiris. The flooding of the Nile is the result of the yearly monsoon between May and