Is it true that the White Perch is actually a subspecies of the Bass Family?

Yes, white perch are one of the species related to the bass family.  White perch belong to the Family Percichthyidae, of which seven species exist in North America.  Theses species are known as the “temperate basses,” a group of sport and food fish that includes both the striped bass and the yellow bass.  The white perch is one of the most common fish in the Chesapeake Bay and does not live at all in the ocean.  Instead, they can be found in rivers and freshwater from Nova Scotia all the way down to North Carolina.  White perch are actually considered an invasive species in some North American river systems and in the Great Lakes region, because they consume quantities of larval or juvenile walleye and white bass.  They’re known to hybridize with white bass in the Lake Erie, which has sparked discussion that the genetic integrity of both species may be in danger of being compromised.  Though many people have made the assumption that the white perch is related to the yellow perch, that is not the case.  Instead, the white perch is often confused in appearance with its relative, the white bass.  One way to distinguish is by through the six to ten lines that run horizontally down the body of the white bass.  The white perch has no such stripes.  Both the white perch and the white bass are also very closely related to the striped bass. Though they are similar in size, the white perch is usually slightly smaller than the white bass.

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