Spending a day near Lake Erie can be a refreshing experience from the breeze to the small towns along
route 6, and is best finished off with a perch sandwich. You sit down on a dock and your food arrives, but what you may not realize is that the breaded filet may not be native yellow perch, but invasive white perch instead! Although the meat on the sandwich may taste quite similar regardless of species, White Perch are a considerable problem in Lake Erie.
White Perch (scientific name Morone americana image from ODNR 2012) is a species of fish that is part of the temperate basses family, originating from the Atlantic coast. These fish usually live in waters that are a mix of salt water and fresh water, also known as being brackish. Despite originally being from the coast ranging from South Carolina to Maine, they have fully established themselves in Lake Erie (see map, taken from USGS 2017). The largest issue with white perch is that they will eat the eggs of many natives Walleye.
It is also theorized that White Perch compete with the native Yellow Perch for microscopic food sources known as zooplankton. Overall, since the invasion of White Perch into the Lake Erie basin, growth rates of Yellow Perch have declined, especially in the western basin where fishing for them is most prevalent (USGS 2017). When White Perch have made their way into inland reservoirs such as LaDue, East Fork, and Sippo Lake, they will spawn quickly and over populate the area (ODNR 2012). This leads to a condition known as stunting where fish grow very slowly due to a lack of resources. This can be concerning for managers because the large amount of small fish are neither fun to fish for nor easy to get rid of.
With a trend towards warmer winters due to climate change, there will be even more dramatic effects from the white perch. In an interview with Cleveland News, Dr. Ludsin from Ohio State said, “warmers winters benefit White Perch, which are sensitive to cold temperatures.”(Egan 2013). This has a lead to an increase in White Perch numbers and therefore increased predation upon yellow perch. To help combat the problem, there a some things that the public can do. Looking to the future it is unlikely that the white perch population will ever be removed from Lake Erie, but it’s effects will continue to be monitored and fish will still be taken to create a companion for tartar sauce.
Sources
ODNR Division of Wildife. “White Perch – Morone americana.” 2012. http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/fish/white-perch. Accessed 9/28/2017
Egan, D’Arcy. “Changing Lake Erie, invasie white perch threaten popular yellow perch in Western Lake Erie.” March 29, 2013. http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2013/03/changing_lake_erie_invasive_wh.html. Accessed 9/28/2017
USGS. “NAS -Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Morone americanus.” January 26, 2017. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=777. Accessed 9/28/2017