Yellow perch

Taxobox
name = Yellow Perch


image_width = 250px
status = secure
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Osteichthyes
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Percidae
genus = "Perca"
sub-phylum = "Vertebrata"
species = "P. flavescens"
binomial = "Perca flavescens"
binomial_authority = Mitchill, 1814The yellow perch ("Perca flavescens") is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have 6-8 dark vertical bars on their sides. The yellow perch is in the same family as the walleye and sauger, but in a different family from the white perch.

Yellow perch size can vary greatly between bodies of water, but adults are usually between 4-10 inches (10-25.5 cm) in length and weigh about 5.29 oz (150 g) on average. The perch can live for up to 11 years, and older perch are often much larger than average; the maximum recorded length is 21.0 inches (53.3 cm) and the largest recorded weight is 4.2 lb (1.91 kg). Large yellow perch are often called "jumbo perch."

The perch reach sexual maturity at one to three years of age for males and two to three years of age for females. Spawning occurs at the end of April or beginning of May, depositing 5,000 to 100,000 eggs upon weeds, or the branches of trees or shrubs that have become immersed in the water. After fertilization the eggs hatch in 11 to 27 days depending on temperature and other weather conditions.

Yellow Perch are one of the finest flavored of all panfish, and this has led to misuse of their name in the restaurant industry. Menus will sometimes list "White Perch", "Rock Perch" or simply "Perch" that are actually other species, usually panfish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family.

Fishing

for perch is from June to November in colder regions, but they can be found year-round. They frequent rocky lake edges, beds of weeds, eddies, and in sections of streams with shaded cover.

References

* [http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?sourceTemplate=species_RptComprehensive.wmt&loadTemplate=species_RptSumm.wmt&paging=&elKey=102985&save=false&page=1 NatureServe - Perca flavescens]

* [http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Perca&speciesname=flavescens Fishbase.org - Yellow perch]

* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Perca_flavescens.html Animal Diversity Web - Yellow perch]

* [http://www.fundp.ac.be/recherche/projets/en/99275103.html Cross-breeding of Yellow and European perch]

*

*cite book |last=Rice |first=F. Philip |title=America's Favorite Fishing-A Complete Guide to Angling for Panfish |year=1964 |publisher=Harper Row |location=New York

*cite book |last=Rice |first=F. Philip |title=Panfishing |year=1984 |publisher=Stackpole Books |location=New York |isbn=0-943822-25-4