White perch

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White perch

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Perciformes
Family: Moronidae
Genus: Morone
Species: M. americana
Binomial name
Morone americana
(Gmelin, 1789)
Morone americana
Morone americana

The white perch, Morone americana, is not a true perch but is, rather, a fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America.

Generally silvery-white in colour, hence the name, it has been reported up to 49.5 cm in length and weighing 2.2 kg.

Although favouring brackish waters, it is also found in fresh water and coastal areas from the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario south to the Pee Dee River in South Carolina.

White perch are a popular game fish, and also are fished commercially, for instance in Chesapeake Bay. 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.

White perch are known to eat the eggs of many species native to the Great Lakes, such as walleye and other true perches. At times, fish eggs are 100% of its diet.

The name "white perch" is sometimes erroneously applied to 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 Indiana, have mandated, in law, that all white perch caught be killed; an effort to reduce or eliminate the populations invading bodies of water.

[edit] References

chris is,,,,,, a weird guy

[edit] External links


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