White Perch
White perch Morone americana are native to the estuaries
and freshwater systems of the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to
South Carolina. White perch provide an important recreational
and commercial fishery in the Chesapeake Bay area. The fish
frequent areas with level bottoms of compact silt, mud, sand or
clay and show little preference for vegetation, structures or
other shelter. White perch move up large rivers to spawn (much
like the white bass) at water temperatures between 52B and 61B.
White perch are predacious carnivores with juveniles feeding on
aquatic insects, small crustaceans and small fish. White perch
have been shown to prey on fish eggs of valuable sport fishes
such as walleye, white bass and yellow perch when introduced
outside their native range. The collapse of the walleye fishery
in part of Lake Ontario has been blamed, in part, on egg
predation by white perch. The Chesapeake Bay sport catch record
is 2.6 pounds but white perch rarely reach 0.5 pounds in inland
reservoirs. White perch have been reported to live up to 17
years.
The
distribution of white perch has expanded well beyond their
native range due to both accidental introductions and
intentional stockings intended to create a sport fishery. White
perch invaded Lake Ontario in the 1940's and has spread
throughout the Great Lakes. White perch entered the Mississippi
River system through a canal connecting Lake Michigan with the
Illinois River near Chicago. From there, white perch are
expected to invade up and down the Mississippi River in coming
years. White perch were introduced into Nebraska by Nebraska
Game Fish and Parks to provide an additional sport fishery. For
the most part, white perch populations in Nebraska have been
slow growing, if not stunted, and have provided only a marginal
fishery. In addition, walleye and white bass eggs have been
reported to make up 100% of the diet of white perch during the
spring spawning period. White perch were introduced into Kansas
accidentally being mixed in with a stocking of striped bass that
originated from Virginia. These fish were stocked into Cheney
and Wilson reservoirs. White perch moved downstream from Cheney
Reservoir, entering the Arkansas River and continued moving
downstream into Kaw Reservoir. White perch were first found in
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) routine
sampling in 2000. ODWC began a research/monitoring program in
2001 intended to follow white perch population trends and to
look at competitive effects on white crappie and white bass.
To date, populations of white perch in Kaw, Sooner and
Keystone remain strong. The continued potential downstream
expansion into other reservoirs of the Arkansas River system
remains likely. ODWC is asking anglers to destroy any white
perch caught from Kaw and report any catches of white perch
outside of Kaw, Keystone and Sooner Lakes to (405) 521-3721. We would also ask anglers to
freeze any specimens for confirmation by an agency biologist.
The following diagrams will help distinguish white perch from
white bass.
is it a white bass or a white perch?
WHITE BASS (Morone chrysops)
-
The body is deepest below
the dorsal fin and the depth remains fairly uniform below
the entire spin dorsal fin - From 6 to 10 dark lines run horizontally down the back and sides.
- When the spiny dorsal fin is pulled erect, the soft dorsal fin remains relaxed.
- Each of 3 bony anal fin spines are of different lengths and are arranged in ascending order.
- The anal fin usually has 11 or 12 soft rays behind the 3 bony spines.
WHITE PERCH (Morone americana)
-
The
body is deepest just ahead of, or at the beginning of, the
dorsal fin. - There are no lines or stripes on the back or sides.
- When the spiny dorsal fin is pulled erect, the soft dorsal fin also becomes erect.
- The second and third bony anal spines are almost exactly the same length.
- The anal fin usually has 8 or 9 soft rays behind the 3 bony spines.