American yellow perch (Perca flavescens) is a freshwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 0–56 m.
Scientific name: Perca flavescens · Water: Freshwater, Brackish
Size: up to 50 cm
The American yellow perch is a benthopelagic percid that inhabits lakes, ponds and the pools of creeks and rivers, and it is also found in brackish water and in salt lakes, recorded from the surface down to 56 m. It is most commonly found in clear water near vegetation and tends to shoal near the shore, feeding during the day on immature insects, larger invertebrates, fishes and fish eggs, and it is preyed upon by fishes and birds. Its range is North America: the Atlantic, Arctic, Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins from Nova Scotia to the Mackenzie River drainage in the Northwest Territories and south to Ohio, Illinois and Nebraska, and south in Atlantic drainages to the Savannah River in Georgia. Maximum length is about 50 cm total length, commonly about 19 cm, and it can live 11 years, maturing at about 19 cm. It is a commercial species, a gamefish and is kept in public aquariums, and it is marketed fresh or frozen and eaten pan-fried, broiled or baked. Fishing vulnerability is moderate to high at 48 of 100 and resilience medium. IUCN lists it as least concern.
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