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Issue Date:

July 26, 2008

August 1, 2008

Yellow Perch

The 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 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 and the largest recorded weight is 4.2 lb. 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.

Try Yellow Perch in

Greek Baked Perch

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