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Yellow perch

Yellow perch
Recommended servings per month
Contaminant | Men | Women | Kids 6-12 | Kids 0-5 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yellow perch (wild, imported) | Mercury, *PCBs | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 3 |
Yellow perch (farmed, US) | Mercury, *PCBs | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 3 |
Eco details:
- Yellow perch is a resilient species of fish.
- Habitat loss (mainly spawning habitat), invasive species, and overfishing dramatically impacted the yellow perch during the 1900’s, as with many Great Lakes species.
- In Lake Erie, careful management and the resilient nature of yellow perch have caused their populations to rebound.
- Less is known about yellow perch populations in Lakes Huron and Ontario.
- Also, in these Lakes Huron and Ontario, yellow perch is a food source for cormorants, which have made a drastic comeback with improves water quality in the Great Lakes.
- Until more is known about the combined effects of the fishery and cormorants, yellow perch from Lakes Huron and Ontario will be rated an Eco-OK choice, while yellow perch from Lake Erie is rated an Eco-Best choice.