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European perch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| European perch | ||||||||||||||
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| Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758 |
The European perch (Perca fluviatilis) is a highly predatory species of perch found in Europe and Asia. In some areas it is known as the redfin perch or English perch, and it is often referred to by the shortform perch. The species is very popular and has been widely introduced beyond its native area, into Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. They have caused substantial damage to native fish populations in Australia.
European perch are greenish with red pelvic, anal, and caudal fins. They have 5-9 dark vertical bars on their sides.
European perch size can vary greatly between bodies of water; in Australia the fish are sometimes much larger than in their native Europe. The perch can live for up to 22 years, and older perch are often much larger than average; the maximum recorded length is 20 inches (51 cm) and the largest recorded weight is 10.4 lbs (4.75 kg).
The perch spawns at the end of April or beginning of May, depositing it upon weeds, or the branches of trees or shrubs that have become immersed in the water; it does not come into condition again until July.
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The baits for perch are, minnows, brandling, red, marsh, and lob worms, shrimps and artificial lures. The tackle should be fine but strong, as with a fish bait (such as a small perch or roach) a trout or pike may frequently be hooked. Therefore the fisherman has a certain responsibility to use a wire trace with such baits as considerable damage could be done to pike or trout if light line is broken. Artificial lures can be quite effective too, particular for medium sized perch.
Perch are gregarious, and in the winter months, when floods have destroyed weedbeds, they congregate together in pools, and may be angled for with greatest success from 10 to 4 o'clock before light fades.
Because of their similar appearance and ability to cross-breed, the yellow perch has sometimes been classified as a subspecies of the European perch, in which case its trinomial name would be Perca fluviatilis flavescens.
However, it is unclear whether or not hybrids are viable, and most classifications treat the two fish as separate species. According to NatureServe, allozyme data indicates that Perca fluviatilis and Perca flavescens are separate species.
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). Perca fluviatilis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Perca fluviatilis (TSN 168470). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 6 June 2006.