Yellow Perch Perca flavescens
> Although the oldest recorded Yellow Perch reached 11 years of age, they don’t usually live more than 7 years.
> Yellow Perch compete with native trout for food and likely consume young trout in the Pacific Northwest.
> Yellow Perch are considered poor swimmers because they cannot accelerate rapidly.
> These fish are known for their schooling behavior, often forming large groups, especially during the spawning season.
> Yellow Perch are farmed for both sport fishing and food markets.
Identification Tips
> Yellow Perch have a long, slender body with a golden-Yellow to greenish hue and a white underside.
> They have six to nine well-defined dark vertical bars on their sides.
> Yellow Perch have a black dot in between their two dorsal fins. The first dorsal fin has 13-15 stiff rays, while the second only has 2-3 rays.
> They have a forked caudal fin (tail), and all lower fins (pectoral, pelvic and anal) are dark Yellow to orange.
> Mouth extends backwards to middle of the eye and head has a dip above the eyes.
Natural History
> Yellow Perch are omnivorous, feeding on a variety of prey including insects, small fish, and invertebrates.
> They inhabit different types of freshwater environments but can also be found in the brackish waters of estuaries.
> Yellow Perch are preyed upon by a large variety of animals, from fish to birds. To compensate for such high mortality, this fish tend to form large schools and also have very high fecundity (10,000 to 50,000 eggs/female)
> Spawning occurs in large groups during early spring when water temperatures reach about 48-52°F (7-11°C). Females lay their eggs in long, gelatinous strands that adhere to submerged vegetation or structures. The eggs are fertilized by the sperm of different males. There is no parental protection for eggs or young.
> Yellow Perch exhibit seasonal migration patterns, moving to deeper waters in winter and returning to shallower areas in spring and summer.
Distribution
> Native to the eastern United States and to most of Canada west of the Rocky Mountains. Yellow Perch are found throughout the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and the Mississippi River basin.
> They have been introduced to the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest as a sport fish and were brought to the Columbia River Basin in the late 1800s.
> Yellow Perch have also been introduced to various water bodies outside their native range for recreational fishing.
> Although they can be found throughout the Willamette River, Yellow Perch tend to occupy warmer sloughs and floodplain ponds.
Size
> Yellow Perch typically range from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) in length, although some individuals can reach up to 50 cm (19.7 inches).
> Adult Yellow Perch generally weigh between 200 to 400 grams (0.4 to 0.9 pounds), with larger specimens occasionally reaching up to 4 pounds.
Habitat
> Yellow Perch thrive in freshwater habitats with ample vegetation, clear water, and sandy or muddy bottoms.
> They prefer lakes, slow-moving rivers, and ponds with moderate to abundant aquatic vegetation but can be found in brackish waters.
> Yellow Perch are adaptable and can tolerate a range of water temperatures and conditions, though they prefer cooler waters.
Diet
> Yellow Perch have subterminal mouths which indicates that they have benthic (bottom) feeding habits).
> Yellow Perch eat mainly zooplankton when they are young; as they grow they switch to aquatic insect larvae, small crustaceans, fish eggs and juvenile fish.
Management Considerations
> Since they are a nonnative species in the Columbia River Basin, they are not the focus of any conservation efforts.
> Beyond the Willamette Basin, Yellow Perch are currently a problem in some reservoirs, such as Phillips Reservoir in eastern Oregon. ODFW introduced Tiger Trout and Tiger Muskies into Phillips Reservoir to control Perch. To date, it has not been successful.
References
For more information, see references.