the end of summer their diet consists almost entirely of fish. Yellow 

 perch, smelts, and white perch are eaten. 



Growth of white perch varies considerably in various lakes and 

 ponds of Maine. In one pond a six-year-old perch may be as much as 

 12 inches long and weigh more than a pound whereas in another water 

 area a perch of the same age may be less than 7 inches long and weigh 

 only a few ounces. In general, lakes, ponds, or flowages that have large 

 areas of shallow, fairly warm water produce the fastest growing perch. 



White perch usually become the most abundant of all the species 

 inhabiting the same waters. Minimum legal length regulations and other 

 restrictions may only serve to aggravate the situation. 



If the environment is favorable and the body of water is a few 

 hundred acres or more in area it is very unlikely that a population with 

 such a high reproductive potential could be reduced by angling. It is 

 more logical that fluctuations in white perch populations are caused by 

 unfavorable temperature and water conditions soon after spawning. 



Production of salmon and trout is greatly reduced when white perch 

 are introduced into good salmon and trout waters where they become 

 serious competitors. 



White perch are ranked among the first ten as a freshwater game 

 fish and as a food fish they are one of the most palatable. 



74 



