Distribution

Physical Characteristics

The white perch has the following characteristics:

• a deep, thin body that slopes up steeply from the eye to the beginning of the dorsal fin;
• colours which can be olive, grey-green, silvery-grey, dark brown, or black on the back, becoming a lighter green on the sides and silvery-white on the belly;
• the pelvic and anal fins (both on the belly) are sometimes rosy coloured;
• like all members of the bass family, it has two dorsal fins on the back and the pelvic fins sit forward on the body below the pectoral fins;
• the first dorsal fin has nine spines but the second one is soft-rayed;
• there are three spines at the front of the anal fin, and a single spine precedes the second dorsal fin and each pelvic fin;
• it has many small sharp teeth;
• its scales are relatively large and the lateral line is complete.
• It can grow to 48.3 cm (19 in) and 2.72 kg (6 lb).
• It is similar in shape to the striped bass, also found in our waters. The white perch has a deeper, less rounded body than the striped bass, and lacks the 6 to 10 horizontal stripes found on striped bass.

The oldest known white perch lived 17 years.

The world angling record for white perch is a 2.15 kg (4-7 lb) fish taken in Messalonskee Lake, Maine, in 1949.

Natural History

The white perch is a fish that can live in fresh or salt water and does best when summer water temperatures reach 24øC. In the Maritimes, it occurs mostly in freshwater lakes and ponds. Sea-run populations are found in some coastal rivers and estuaries.

Spring spawning takes place when water temperatures become 11 to 16øC during late May or June in shallow water over many kinds of bottoms. Males and females each spawn several times.

The tiny 0.9 mm eggs become sticky after fertilization and attach to vegetation and bottom materials. White perch are quite prolific; a 25 cm (I0 in) female can produce 247,700 eggs.

The length of time for hatching depends on the water temperature. When the water is cooler, hatching takes longer (4 to 4.5 days at 15øC versus about 30 hours at 20øC). Newly-hatched white perch are 2.3 mm long and feed on plankton (tiny organisms in the water). They grow rapidly and can reach 65 mm (2.5 in) by late summer.

Growth rates of white perch vary among regions and populations. Few studies have been done on Maritime populations. Most perch in our waters are less than 15 cm (6 in).

Larger pan-sized white perch that weigh 225-450 g (0-5 to 1.0 lb) are taken in some Nova Scotia lakes. Lake Ontario fish can reach 33.5 cm (13.2 in) and 780 g (1.72 lb). Even larger sizes have been reported in some U.S. waters.

White perch in lakes are known to feed both during the day and night. Fresh and saltwater populations move to surface (or inshore) waters at night, retreating to deeper water during the day.

Perch eat mostly aquatic insect larvae when they are small. As they grow, many kinds of fish such as smelt, yellow perch, killifsh, and other white perch are eaten. They usually mature at 3 years and live 5 to 7 years.

White perch are thought to compete with some game fishes for food. In some places, a lack of harvesting, either by anglers or other species of fish, can lead to large populations of stunted, small white perch.

Smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, and large trout will eat white perch.

Published With Funding from the Canada-Nova Scotia Cooperation Agreement on Economic Diversification, Resource Competitiveness Program.