Most if all Thais do not know the Tilapia nilotica by its fullfledged name. But most if not all have probably eaten it before. It’s one of the most eaten freshwater fish in Thailand with 220,000 tonnes produced for the local market peryear according to the department of Fisheries. It’s seen regularly on dishes of your average Thai households and restaurants. It’s also the fish that nearly seven decades ago helped villagers in rural areas avoid starvation and malnutrition and today it’s helping agriculturalists and farmers make a living. This swiss-army-knife of a fish is actually the humble pla nil.