The
white perch,
Morone americana, is not a true
perchThe Percidae are a family of perciform fish found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains about 200 species in ten genera...
but is, rather, a fish of the temperate bass family
MoronidaeMoronidae, also known as the "temperate basses", is a family of perciform fish consisting of 6 freshwater and marine species. Similar to Acropomatidae, Moronidae fish are most commonly found near the coastal regions of eastern North America and Europe....
, notable as a food and game fish in eastern
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
.
Generally silvery-white in colour, hence the name, it has been reported up to 49.5 cm (19.5 in.) in length and weighing 2.2 kg (4.8 lbs.).
Although favouring brackish waters, it is also found in fresh water and coastal areas from the St.
The
white perch,
Morone americana, is not a true
perchThe Percidae are a family of perciform fish found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains about 200 species in ten genera...
but is, rather, a fish of the temperate bass family
MoronidaeMoronidae, also known as the "temperate basses", is a family of perciform fish consisting of 6 freshwater and marine species. Similar to Acropomatidae, Moronidae fish are most commonly found near the coastal regions of eastern North America and Europe....
, notable as a food and game fish in eastern
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
.
Generally silvery-white in colour, hence the name, it has been reported up to 49.5 cm (19.5 in.) in length and weighing 2.2 kg (4.8 lbs.).
Although favouring brackish waters, it is also found in fresh water and coastal areas from the St. Lawrence River and
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
south to the
Pee Dee RiverThe Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in North Carolina and South Carolina. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course above the mouth of the Uwharrie River is known as the Yadkin River, and it is extensively dammed for flood...
.
Chesapeake BayThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's watershed covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia...
. The raw meat is of a somewhat pinkish hue but, when cooked, it is white and flaky. In some areas they are considered an invasive species and may not be returned to the water if caught. At times a parasite known as Lironeca ovalis is located in the gills. They are only known to reduce the growing rate of white perch.
White perch are known to eat the eggs of many species native to the
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. They are sometimes referred to as the "Third...
, such as
walleyeWalleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
and other true perches. At times, fish eggs are 100% of its diet.
The name "white perch" is sometimes erroneously applied to the
white crappiePomoxis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
.
White perch are a prolific species. The female can deposit over 140,000 eggs in a spawning session, lasting just over a week. Several males will often attend a spawning female, and each may fertilize a portion of her eggs. The young hatch within 1 to 6 days of fertilization.
Given its prolific nature, some states, notably
IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
, have mandated, in law, that all white perch caught shall be killed; an effort to reduce or eliminate the populations invading bodies of water.
As for fishing, these fish put up a great fight for their size. They can be caught with blood worms, on small hooks, on double rigs. White perch also have a hard scaley body that along with their sharp fins protects them from predators.
The white perch is currently recovering from loss of population in the Hudson River from factors of change that go in its favor.