Joined
·
25,888 Posts
Some folks get alarmed at the number of White Perch that I and others catch and keep. Please read some information that I have copied and you might understand our madness. Also, Lake Norman no longer has any White Bass due to the White Perch, also our Blue Gill population has been declining for several years.
![]()
![]()
(White Perch; Photo credit: [SIZE=-1]Department of Fisheries and Oceans, http://www.glfc.org/fishtank/38wperc.gif)[/SIZE]
![]()
DESCRIPTION The White Perch (Morone americana) is an invading species that has become permanently established in Lake Erie, the Ohio River, and a few inland lakes. Prolific competitors of native fish species, white perch are believed to have the potential to cause declines of Great Lakes walleye populations.
![]()
White Perch or White Bass (Why it matters)
While the white bass is native to the Great Lakes, the white perch is an invader that may reduce populations of native fish such as walleye and white bass. Additionally, white bass can interbreed with white perch, which could dilute the gene pools of both species.
White PerchMorone americanaWhite Bass Morone chrysopsPhoto Credit & Source: Wisconsin sea grant, Fish Profiles (frames)/Fish of the Great Lakes by Wisconsin Sea Grant; Ohio Department of Natural Resources, http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/odnr/wildlife/fishing/fishid/whitepe.html
![]()
![]()
Length: Usually 5-7 inches (127-178mm)9-15 inches (average sport catches)Weight: Average 8 ounces6 lbs. 7 oz. (world record )Coloring: variable, dark grayish-green, dark silvery green, or dark brown to almost black on back; pale olive or silvery green on sides; silvery white on bellybody is primarily silver, with dark green or gray on the back and white below; sides have 5-7 horizontal dark stripesCommon Names: white perch, narrow-mouthed bass, silver perch, sea perchsilver bass, white lake-bass, striped bassFound in Lakes: Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie and SuperiorMichigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie
![]()
![]()
1. The body is deepest just ahead of, or at the beginning of, the dorsal fin.1. The body is deepest below the dorsal fin and the depth remains fairly uniform below the entire spiny dorsal fin.2. There are no lines or stripes on the back or sides.2. From 6 to 10 dark lines run horizontally down the back and sides.3. When the spiny dorsal fin is pulled erect, the soft dorsal fin also becomes erect.3. When the spiny dorsal fin is pulled erect, the soft dorsal fin remains relaxed.4. The second and third bony anal spines are almost exactly the same length.4. Each of 3 bony anal fin spines are of different lengths and are arranged in ascending order.5. The anal fin usually has 8 or 9 soft rays behind the 3 bony spines.5. The anal fin usually has 11 or 12 soft rays behind the 3 bony spines.Photo credit & source: Ohio Sea Grant Fact Sheet 005, Is it a white bass or a white perch? by Fred L. Snyder, http://www.sg.ohio-state.edu/PDFS/PUBLICATIONS/FS/FS-005.pdf
IMPACTS
![]()
Eating the eggs of walleye, white bass, and other fishes
White perch have been found to eat the eggs of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), white bass (Morone chrysops), other white perch and possibly other species as well. Fish eggs apparently are an important component of the diet of white perch in the spring months. At times, depending on which fish is spawning, the eggs of either walleye or white bass comprise 100% of the white perchs diet.
![]()
Hybridizing with native white bass
White perch, actually a species of the bass genus (Moronidae), have hybridized with native white bass in western Lake Erie. These hybrids were first noted in western Lake Erie in the early 1980s, the same time when white perch were increasing in abundance in this area. Since these hybrids are capable of back-crossing with parent species as well as crossing among themselves, they could dilute the gene pool of both parent species. This is the first known natural occurring hybrid in this genus; all other Morone hybrids were artificially produced. This hybridization is probably also occurring in the other Great Lakes.
Sources: 1. Pam Fuller, Southeastern Biological Science Center, National Biological Service;
2. Fishes of Wisconsin by George C. Becker (University of Wisconsin Press, 1983);
3. Freshwater Fishes of Canada by W.B. Scott and E.J. Crossman (Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1973); 4. Wisconsin sea grant, Fish Profiles (frames)/Fish of the Great Lakes by Wisconsin Sea Grant)
![]()
Competing with native fish for food
White perch has competed with native yellow perch Perca flavescens for zooplankton. One evidence is that growth rates of yellow perch had declined since since invasion of white perch in Lake Erie, especially in the western basin. It was also determined that the two species had considerable diet overlap. They also found in one sample, white perch consumed 27 percent more food than yellow perch (Parrish and Margraf 1990).
Parrish and Margraf (1994) speculated that competition between white perch and forage fishes, such as emerald shiner Notropis atherinoides and spottail shiner N. hudsonius, may actually be more complex and may be responsible for the declines of the latter species. Decline of these species could also affect walleye Stizostedion vitreum, the top predator in Lake Erie (Parrish and Margraf 1994).
Within three years after being introduced into a Nebraska reservoir, white perch had completely replaced the previously dominant black bullhead Ameiurus melas. Species composition changed from 74 percent black bullhead to 70 percent white perch in that timeframe (Hergenrader and Bliss 1971).
Sources: 1. Parrish, D.L. and F.J. Margraf, 1990. Gastric evacuation rates of white perch, Morone americana, determined from laboratory and field data, University of Vermont; 2. Parrish, D.L. and F.J. Margraf, 1994. Spatial and temporal patterns of food use by white perch and yellow perch in lake erie, Journal of Freshwater Ecology 9(1):29-35; 3. Hergenrader, G. L., and Q. P. Bliss. 1971. The white perch in Nebraska. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 100(4):734-738; 4. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: White Perch.
![]()
Top
![]()
ORIGIN
White Perch [SIZE=+2](Morone americana)[/SIZE]
DESCRIPTION The White Perch (Morone americana) is an invading species that has become permanently established in Lake Erie, the Ohio River, and a few inland lakes. Prolific competitors of native fish species, white perch are believed to have the potential to cause declines of Great Lakes walleye populations.
While the white bass is native to the Great Lakes, the white perch is an invader that may reduce populations of native fish such as walleye and white bass. Additionally, white bass can interbreed with white perch, which could dilute the gene pools of both species.
White PerchMorone americanaWhite Bass Morone chrysopsPhoto Credit & Source: Wisconsin sea grant, Fish Profiles (frames)/Fish of the Great Lakes by Wisconsin Sea Grant; Ohio Department of Natural Resources, http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/odnr/wildlife/fishing/fishid/whitepe.html
IMPACTS
White perch have been found to eat the eggs of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), white bass (Morone chrysops), other white perch and possibly other species as well. Fish eggs apparently are an important component of the diet of white perch in the spring months. At times, depending on which fish is spawning, the eggs of either walleye or white bass comprise 100% of the white perchs diet.
White perch, actually a species of the bass genus (Moronidae), have hybridized with native white bass in western Lake Erie. These hybrids were first noted in western Lake Erie in the early 1980s, the same time when white perch were increasing in abundance in this area. Since these hybrids are capable of back-crossing with parent species as well as crossing among themselves, they could dilute the gene pool of both parent species. This is the first known natural occurring hybrid in this genus; all other Morone hybrids were artificially produced. This hybridization is probably also occurring in the other Great Lakes.
Sources: 1. Pam Fuller, Southeastern Biological Science Center, National Biological Service;
2. Fishes of Wisconsin by George C. Becker (University of Wisconsin Press, 1983);
3. Freshwater Fishes of Canada by W.B. Scott and E.J. Crossman (Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1973); 4. Wisconsin sea grant, Fish Profiles (frames)/Fish of the Great Lakes by Wisconsin Sea Grant)
White perch has competed with native yellow perch Perca flavescens for zooplankton. One evidence is that growth rates of yellow perch had declined since since invasion of white perch in Lake Erie, especially in the western basin. It was also determined that the two species had considerable diet overlap. They also found in one sample, white perch consumed 27 percent more food than yellow perch (Parrish and Margraf 1990).
Parrish and Margraf (1994) speculated that competition between white perch and forage fishes, such as emerald shiner Notropis atherinoides and spottail shiner N. hudsonius, may actually be more complex and may be responsible for the declines of the latter species. Decline of these species could also affect walleye Stizostedion vitreum, the top predator in Lake Erie (Parrish and Margraf 1994).
Within three years after being introduced into a Nebraska reservoir, white perch had completely replaced the previously dominant black bullhead Ameiurus melas. Species composition changed from 74 percent black bullhead to 70 percent white perch in that timeframe (Hergenrader and Bliss 1971).
Sources: 1. Parrish, D.L. and F.J. Margraf, 1990. Gastric evacuation rates of white perch, Morone americana, determined from laboratory and field data, University of Vermont; 2. Parrish, D.L. and F.J. Margraf, 1994. Spatial and temporal patterns of food use by white perch and yellow perch in lake erie, Journal of Freshwater Ecology 9(1):29-35; 3. Hergenrader, G. L., and Q. P. Bliss. 1971. The white perch in Nebraska. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 100(4):734-738; 4. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: White Perch.
