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White perch (Morone americana)

White perch Common Names: Narrow-mouthed bass, silver perch, perch, bass, sea perch, gray perch, blue nose perch, humpy.

Description: Entered lower Great Lakes in early 1950s through the Hudson River-Erie barge canal system and spread westward. Spread by accidental inclusion in shipments for stocking inland lakes.

Identification: 5-7 inches (can reach 15); grayish green to dark green-brown, silver sides, silvery white belly.

Habitat: Native to the Atlantic Coast. Found in brackish water, adapted to freshwater; river mouths, bays, reefs, nearshore areas; spawns in tributaries along the Great Lakes in April and May.

Reproduction:

Impact and Damage: Feed heavily on the eggs and young of important game species, and they have the potential to cause declines in native fish populations. Competes with native fish for food and habitat, can hybridize with native white bass and by 1952, it became the most numerous fish in the Great Lakes.

Monitoring and rapid response: Clean, drain, dry.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from "Invaders of the Great Lakes" produced by Wildlife Forever, the Sea Grant Great Lakes Network and the Ohio DNR.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org). Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

White perch

Scientific Name:

Morone americana

Family:

Moronidae
(Temperate bass)

Habit:

Fish