Fish
European Perch
Perca fluviatilis · also called redfin perch, English perch
The European perch is the fish many people in Europe catch first: a bold, handsome, stripe-sided predator with spiky fins and bright red paddles, that grabs a bait without hesitation. It is also the fish that gives its name to an entire family, the Percidae, which includes the walleye, the zander, and the North American yellow perch.
Overview
Perca fluviatilis is a deep-bodied freshwater predator, greenish with five to eight dark bars, a spiny front dorsal fin marked with a black blotch, and red-orange lower fins. It lives in lakes, reservoirs, canals, and slow rivers across Europe and northern Asia, from Ireland to Siberia. Young perch eat insects and crustaceans; larger ones switch to small fish, including smaller perch.
Shoal, then solo
Young perch form tight shoals for safety and to help herd prey. As they grow and their own predators fall away, big perch become solitary ambush hunters, holding near weed beds, snags, and drop-offs and darting out at passing fish. In spring the female drapes a single lacy ribbon of tens of thousands of eggs over submerged branches and weed, then leaves them.
Prized at home, a problem abroad
Firm and mild, the perch is a favourite food fish across continental Europe and a hard-fighting sport fish everywhere. Introduced to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa as “redfin”, it has become a damaging invader, eating native fish and spreading a serious fish disease.
Status
The European perch is Least Concern, abundant and secure across its large native range. The conservation issue runs the other way — the harm it does where it has been introduced.
European Perch: common questions
What is the difference between European perch and yellow perch?
They are close relatives in the same genus and look very similar, both deep-bodied, olive-green, and marked with dark vertical bars, with spiny dorsal fins and reddish lower fins. The European perch, Perca fluviatilis, lives across Europe and northern Asia. The yellow perch, Perca flavescens, is its North American counterpart. The European perch tends to grow a little larger, is generally greener, and often has a small backward extension or hook on some of its gill-cover spines, while the yellow perch is usually more golden-yellow. In practice, location settles it, and a barred perch from a European lake is the European perch, while one from North America is the yellow perch.
How big does a European perch get?
Most perch an angler catches are modest, 15 to 30 cm and well under half a kilogram, because perch are slow-growing and many populations are dominated by small fish. A perch of 40 cm and 1 kg is a good specimen, and the recognised rod-caught records from the richest waters are around 3 kg, with old fish developing a distinct humped back behind the head. Growth depends heavily on food and competition, and in a crowded lake perch may stay stunted for life, while in a water with plenty of prey fish and few rivals, individuals can grow large.
Why do big perch stop shoaling?
It is a shift in strategy that comes with size. A small perch is vulnerable to pike, larger perch, and fish-eating birds, and a shoal gives it many eyes to spot danger and confuses attackers, while also helping to corral small prey. As a perch grows, it has fewer predators and its best feeding option changes from picking at plankton and invertebrates in open water to ambushing other fish. An ambush hunter does better alone and hidden, holding near a weed bed, snag, or drop-off and darting out at passing prey, so large perch spread out and become territorial while the young fish keep to their shoals.
Is the European perch good to eat?
Yes, it is highly regarded. The flesh is firm, white, flaky, and mild, without a muddy taste when the fish comes from clean water, and it is a classic ingredient in continental European cooking, particularly around the Alpine lakes, where perch fillets are a restaurant staple. The main drawback is preparation, since perch have sharp spines on the dorsal and gill-cover regions, tough scales that cling to the skin, and a fair amount of waste, so filleting them takes practice. Smaller perch are often skinned rather than scaled. In Britain perch are eaten far less, being valued mainly as a sport fish.