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Noel M. Burkhead

Perca flavescens   (Mitchill 1814)

Common Name: yellow perch

Taxonomy: available through

Identification: Becker (1983); Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994).

Size: 40 cm.

Native Range: Atlantic, Arctic, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River basins from Nova Scotia and Quebec west to Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, and south to Ohio, Illinois, and Nebraska; south in Atlantic drainages to Santee River, South Carolina (Page and Burr 1991). Goode (1884) reported the species east of the Alleghany Mountains as far south as Georgia.

Alaska	Hawaii	Caribbean

Interactive maps: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean

Nonindigenous Occurrences: The yellow perch has been introduced into Alabama (Smith-Vaniz 1968; Boschung 1992; Mettee et al. 1996); Alaska (Little 2000); Arizona (O'Malley 1920; Miller and Lowe 1967; Minckley 1973; Behnke and Benson 1980); Arkansas (O'Malley 1920); California (Smith 1896; Shebley 1917; Neale 1931; Moyle 1976a; Dill and Cordone 1997); Colorado (O'Malley 1919, 1920; Ellis 1974; Tyus et al. 1982; Propst and Carlson 1986; Rasmussen 1998; Tilmant 1999; Behnke and Benson 1980; Beckman 1952); Connecticut (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Florida (Kilby et al. 1959; Yerger 1977; Lee et al. 1980 et seq.); Georgia (Dahlberg and Scott 1971a, 1971b; Yerger 1977); Idaho (Linder 1963; Idaho Fish and Game 1990; Anonymous 2004); Illinois (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Smith 1979; Burr and Page 1986); Indiana (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Nelson and Gerking 1968); Iowa (Titcomb 1904; Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919; O'Malley 1920); Kansas (O'Malley 1919; Cross 1967; Cross et al. 1986); Kentucky (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Burr and Warren 1986); Maine (O'Malley 1920; Tilmant 1999; Halliwell 2003); Maryland (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Lee et al. 1976); Massachusetts (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Minnesota (O'Malley 1919; Johnson 1915); Mississippi (Bowers 1905; O'Malley 1919; Mettee et al. 1996); Missouri (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Pflieger 1997); Montana (Brown 1971; Cross et al. 1986; Holton 1990; Whitmore 1997; Cushing 2003; Madison 2003; Mann 2004; USFWS 2005); Nebraska (Smith 1896; O'Malley 1919; Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Cross et al. 1986); Nevada (Miller and Alcorn 1946; La Rivers 1962; Deacon and Williams 1984; Vinyard 2001); New Jersey (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919); New Mexico (Johnson 1915; Sublette et al. 1990); New York (Bean 1903; Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1920); North Carolina (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919; Menhinick 1991; Jenkins and Burkhead 1994); North Dakota (Titcomb 1904; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Ohio (Trautman 1981; Burr and Page 1986; Hocutt et al. 1986); Oklahoma (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Hall 1956; Miller and Robison 1973); Oregon (Lampman 1946; Bond 1994; Shrader 2000; State of Oregon 2000; Anonymous 2001; Logan 1995; USFWS 2005); Pennsylvania (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); South Carolina (Johnson 1915; Dahlberg and Scott 1971a); South Dakota (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1920; Bailey and Allum 1962); Tennessee (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Starnes and Etnier 1986; Ryon and Loar 1988; Etnier and Starnes 1993); Texas (Hubbs et al. 1991; Waldrip 1993; Anonymous 1994); Utah (Sigler and Miller 1963; Tyus et al. 1982; Behnke and Benson 1980); Vermont (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Virginia (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Hocutt et al. 1986; Jenkins and Burkhead 1994); Washington (Smith 1896; Johnson 1915; Chapman 1942; Lampman 1946; Gray and Dauble 1977; Wydoski and Whitney 1979; USFWS 2005; Four Seasons Campground and Resort 2003; ); West Virginia (Hocutt et al. 1986; Stauffer et al. 1995); and Wyoming (Baxter and Simon 1970; Hubert 1994; Behnke and Benson 1980).

Means of Introduction: The yellow perch has been introduced into Alabama (Smith-Vaniz 1968; Boschung 1992; Mettee et al. 1996); Arizona (O'Malley 1920; Minckley 1973); Arkansas (O'Malley 1920); California (Smith 1896; Shebley 1917; Neale 1931; Moyle 1976a; Dill and Cordone 1997); Colorado (O'Malley 1919, 1920; Ellis 1974; Tyus et al. 1982; Propst and Carlson 1986); Connecticut (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Florida (Kilby et al. 1959; Yerger 1977; Lee et al. 1980 et seq.); Georgia (Dahlberg and Scott 1971a, 1971b; Yerger 1977); Idaho (Linder 1963; Idaho Fish and Game 1990); Illinois (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Smith 1979; Burr and Page 1986); Indiana (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Nelson and Gerking 1968); Iowa (Titcomb 1904; Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919; O'Malley 1920); Kansas (O'Malley 1919; Cross 1967; Cross et al. 1986); Kentucky (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Burr and Warren 1986); Maine (O'Malley 1920); Maryland (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Lee et al. 1976); Massachusetts (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Minnesota (O'Malley 1919; Johnson 1915); Mississippi (Bowers 1905; O'Malley 1919; Mettee et al. 1996); Missouri (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Pflieger 1997); Montana (Brown 1971; Cross et al. 1986; Whitmore 1997); Nebraska (Smith 1896; O'Malley 1919; Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Cross et al. 1986); Nevada (Miller and Alcorn 1946; La Rivers 1962; Deacon and Williams 1984; Insider Viewpoint 2001); New Jersey (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919); New Mexico (Johnson 1915; Sublette et al. 1990); New York (Bean 1903; Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1920); North Carolina (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919; Menhinick 1991; Jenkins and Burkhead 1994); North Dakota (Titcomb 1904; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Ohio (Trautman 1981; Burr and Page 1986; Hocutt et al. 1986); Oklahoma (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Hall 1956; Miller and Robison 1973); Oregon (Lampman 1946; Bond 1994); Pennsylvania (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); South Carolina (Johnson 1915; Dahlberg and Scott 1971a); South Dakota (Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1920; Bailey and Allum 1962); Tennessee (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Starnes and Etnier 1986; Ryon and Loar 1988; Etnier and Starnes 1993; Tilmant 1999); Texas (Hubbs et al. 1991); Utah (Sigler and Miller 1963; Tyus et al. 1982); Vermont (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920); Virginia (Bowers 1906; Johnson 1915; O'Malley 1919, 1920; Hocutt et al. 1986; Jenkins and Burkhead 1994); Washington (Smith 1896; Johnson 1915; Chapman 1942; Lampman 1946; Gray and Dauble 1977; Wydoski and Whitney 1979; Tilmant 1999); West Virginia (Hocutt et al. 1986; Stauffer et al. 1995); and Wyoming (Baxter and Simon 1970; Hubert 1994; Tilmant 1999).

Status: Established in most areas where introduced. Extirpated in Arkansas.

Impact of Introduction: Yellow perch compete with trout for food and likely prey on young trout (Coots 1966).

Remarks: Although Yerger (1977) and Lee et al. (1980 et seq.) considered this species to be introduced into the Apalachicola River in Florida, it may actually be native. Because the Apalachicola drainage was not adequately sampled in early years, introduced status may be incorrectly assumed for some species. Yellow perch was first collected in the Mobile basin circa 1850, long before any stocking took place, indicating the species was native to this region. This record was overlooked by Lee et al. (1980 et seq.). Hence, Perca flavescens may be native to eastern Gulf drainages in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, not introduced. Populations in Atlantic coastal drainages of Georgia, such as the Altamaha and Savannah, have been reported (Dahlberg and Scott 1971b) to be introduced. In fact we believe these populations are more likely native. Dill and Cordone (1997) gave a detailed history of this species and its introduction into California.

References

Anonymous 2001. Oregon's Warm Water Fishing with Public Access. [online]. URL at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFwhtml/FishText/WWFishing/WWFishAL.html.

Cushing, B. 2003. Bucket biology - Letters. Montana Outdoors. Sept/Oct 2003. 2 pp.

Holton, G.D. 1990. A Field Guide to Montana Fishes. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Helena, MT. 104 pp.

Insider Viewpoint. 2001. Fishing Records – Nevada. Insider Viewpoint Magazine. 3 pp.

Little, J. 2000. State to poison perch. Anchorage Daily News. June 8, 2000.

Madison, D. 2003. Outlaw Introductions, p 26-35 in Montana Outdoors. July/August 2003.

Miller, R.R. and C.H. Lowe. 1967. Part 2. Fishes of Arizona, p 133-151, In: C.H. Lowe, ed. The Vertebrates of Arizona. University of Arizona Press. Tucson.

Rasmussen, J.L. 1998. Aquatic nuisance species of the Mississippi River basin. 60th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Aquatic Nuisance Species Symposium, Dec. 7, 1998, Cincinnati, OH.

Shrader, T. 2000. Effects of invasive yellow perch on gamefish and zooplankton populations of Phillips Reservoir. Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. 2000-03. 32 pp.

State of Oregon. 2000. Warm Water Game Fish Records. 7 pp.

Tilmant, J.T. 1999. Management of nonindigenous aquatic fish in the U.S. National Park System. National Park Service. 50 pp.

Waldrip, L. 1993. 1992 fish stocking report. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. January 8, 1993. 1993: 9-12.

Other Resources:

Missouri River Introduced Fish - yellow perch

Distribution in Illinois - ILNHS

Global Invasive Species Database Factsheet

Author: Pam Fuller

Revision Date: 4/20/2006

Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller. 2010. Perca flavescens. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=820> Revision Date: 4/20/2006

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey Page Contact Information: Pam Fuller - NAS Program URL: <http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=820> This File (/queries/FactSheet.asp) Last Modified On: 5/7/2009 11:00:31 AM