Riverine Fish

Ohio is blessed with an abundance of water, but like all developing areas, past and present land use practices affect our water resources.

Land uses that allow soil to runoff into our waterways cause silting of streams and increased turbidity, which can result in a lower quality of water and thus a loss in the diversity of aquatic organisms.

Fish have specific habitat requirements, thus the health of a fish community can tell us a great deal about the quality of the waterway where they reside.

Riverine Fish of Ohio's Scenic Rivers

Trout-Perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus)

Trout-perchThe only member of the family Percopsidae found in North America, the trout-perch are bottom feeders that prefer clean sand and gravel substrates.

In streams, the largest populations tend to occur within the larger, deeper pools of low gradients where the substrates are free from silts and clays.

In Ohio the largest populations are found in the low gradient streams of the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. With the exception of small populations in SW Ohio, they are largely absent from the western half of Ohio and large areas of NE Ohio.

A large population formerly occurred in Lake Erie and the lower portions of some of the Lake Erie tributary streams. This population has declined over the last 40 years due to deteriorating habitat.

At one time the trout-perch was thought to be an important forage fish for many species in Lake Erie such as Walleye, Northern Pike, Burbot, Lake Trout, and Yellow Perch.