Living in the Baltic Sea

Age
22 years old, the females grow older than the males
Record size & age
50 cm / 4,8 kg, 25 years old.
Habitat
Perch generally live in schools from sea level down to
1 000 meters. In the Summer they are often found near
vegetation or other good ambush points. In the Winter they are less active and move to deeper water.
Food
The young feed on plankton, insect larvae, crustacean and small fish, older Perch eat fish and crustaceans. Perch tend to feed mostly during sunrise and sunset, when their superior vision gives them an advantage over their prey.

Spawning
Age: Female 3-6 years old, male 2-4 years old
Season: April - June
Number of eggs: 300 000

A female escorted by several males circles above submerged branches, tree-roots, weeds or even gravel before extruding the eggs in a single long sticky strand, which one or more of the males quickly fertilizes. The eggs hatch after two to three weeks.
The eggs can get stuck to the legs of wading birds and be transferred to other waters this way.

Human impact and Status
Perch are common in the Baltic Sea, but like many other species, suffers reproducing difficulty in some areas due to changing habitats and pollution. Perch grow faster in warm waters for example near nuclear power plants. On the other hand when food is scarce it rarely grows beyond 0,5 kg. It is a popular food fish and is fished all year round booth commercially and by sports fishermen. CLOSE