Overview
Despite its common name, the white perch is actually a bass and a close relative of the white bass and the striped bass, M. saxatilis. It is smaller, shorter, and stockier than the striped bass, but is very similar in appearance to the white bass. The most noticeable difference is that the white perch lacks the stripes that are present on both of the other species. The white perch is far more coastal in occurrence than the white bass and most of the overlap in their distributions occurs in the area of the Great Lakes and upper St. Lawrence River. The white perch is variable in coloration, ranging from pale olive or silvery green on the sides and silvery white on the belly to a much darker tone with a little hint of silver, especially in inland freshwater specimens.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Moronidae
- Genus
- Morone
- Species
- americana
Habitat
White perch usually live in estuaries where the water is somewhat salty (like Brackish Water). This specie can live in Freshwater, Saltwter, and Brackish Water.
Diet
Adult white perch mainly eat other fish, but the young eat: eggs, insects, worms, crustaceans, and small pieces of animal debris, Also, they feed on: mollusks, aquatic or marine worms, aquatic crustaceans, and zooplankton.
Behavior
Juvelines group together in shallow weedy areas. Sometimes, they may leave these areas during the day to find food, but usually return by night. White perch breed once a year between March and July. They can breed in many different types of habitat, but they almost always choose water that is less than 7 m deep.
Fishing
As a food and game fish, it rates very high
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.