White Perch

White perch ( Morone americana ) are found in estuaries and freshwater ecosystems from Nova Scotia to South Carolina. The fish frequent areas with level bottoms of compact silt, mud, sand or clay and show little preference for vegetation, structures or other shelter. Although they are able to live in salinities from zero to full strength seawater, white perch prefer waters of less than 18 percent salinity. Most abundant from the Hudson River to Chesapeake Bay, white perch are abundant year-round residents in all tributaries of the Bay from Havre de Grace, Maryland to Cape Henry, Virginia. From spring through autumn, white perch are present on flats and in channels, retreating to deep channels in the winter.

Life Cycle

The Fishery

White perch are among the most important recreational and commercial fishes in the Chesapeake Bay, especially in Maryland waters, where more than 80 percent of the Bay landings occur. Commercial landings of white perch in the Bay peaked in 1969 at about 2.8 million pounds and have generally declined since then. Commercial landings are made with a variety of gear types, including haul seines, fyke nets, pound nets and gill nets. Catches are greatest during the spring spawning season and also from September through November, when the perch school to feed on migratory clupeids, such as herring.

The recreational fishery for white perch is significant, especially in Maryland, and in recent years recreational catches in the Bay have exceeded commercial catches. The recreational fishery is concentrated in the spring and autumn, when white perch are taken by drifting live bait or by trolling artificial lures near the surface. The Chesapeake Bay sport catch record is a white perch taken in Maryland waters that weighed 2.6 pounds.