Perch is Fish of the Year 2023

What speaks for the perch as fish of the year?

• Widespread species with great adaptation to structurally poor waters
• Popular food and fishing fish
• Substitute monitoring species for climate-related changes in our aquatic fauna

The perch was voted fish of the year 2023 by the Deutscher Angelfischerverband eV together with the Verband Deutscher Scuba Divers eV and the Gesellschaft für Ichthyologie eV.

Successful pioneer

The perch is a species that is widespread in running and still waters in Eurasia and makes only low demands on the structure and quality of its environment. Perch therefore also quickly colonize newly created bodies of water such as quarry ponds or open-pit mines. The perch is one of the more colorful fish species in our waters. The species is characterized by a yellowish-green basic coloration with black transverse bands, two dorsal fins, the first of which is spiny and has a black spot at the end. The remaining fins are red. As juveniles, perch often travel in schools, later large specimens become loners. Perch lay their eggs on plants in long spawning bands between March and June.

Fast growth

The larvae grow rapidly and feed on zooplankton. On average, with a body length of 12 cm, perch switch their food preference to fish. Interestingly, some perch take on fish larvae as food very quickly. This protein-rich diet ensures faster growth, so that there can be significant size differences in individuals of the same age in the water. Perch can grow up to 60 cm long and weigh 4,8 kg. Specimens of more than 40 cm are considered large, those over 50 cm are very rare.

Perch are of great importance in regulating the food chain in the aquatic environment. If there is a good supply of food, they quickly switch to fish food and decimate the whitefish fry. If the supply of nutrients is low, the perch also tends to be small. Perch move around in their habitat and are not site-loyal. They often hunt in swarms. Due to their low demands on their habitat, perch quickly colonize newly formed anthropogenic bodies of water such as quarry ponds. Perch often make up a large part of the fish biomass in the large shipping canals as well.

Water quality indicator

The perch is representative of the general threat to our fish fauna, which increasingly affects the more common species. The extreme periods of drought in recent years have allowed many smaller streams and ponds to dry up, phases with much too high water temperatures and the resulting lack of oxygen are becoming more frequent. In particular, important data on biodiversity change can be collected by documenting the occurrence of common species that can also be easily identified by non-professionals, such as the perch.

Importance as a protein supplier

Due to their boneless, firm meat, perch are popular as food fish and are of great importance as target fish in angling. They can also be marketed well by professional inland fisheries. Most anglers appreciate the species and use fish caught. Since the required quantities of perch can hardly be provided by the fisheries, it has also been produced in aquaculture farms, especially in Eastern Europe, for several years. The quantities are increasing, but are still relatively small. Due to its extensive distribution, the perch represents the possibility of consuming native freshwater fish from local waters like no other species.

Source: https://www.dafv.de