Yellow perch on your plate: Is it the real catch?
It's summertime, and Lake Erie perch is on the menu at your favorite restaurant.
But how do you know the perch on your plate was caught in Lake Erie, or that it's even perch in the first place?
Unless you are a perch aficionado, you might be digging into something other than genuine yellow perch caught in the Great Lake in our backyard.
"If you're going out for a fish dinner and pitcher of beer, you may not know what you're eating,'' said David Frew, co-author of "Fortune and Fury: A History of Commercial Fishing,'' which details Erie's bygone days as a commercial fishing port.
Chances are better that the perch is the real deal if the menu says Lake Erie perch. But if the menu just says lake perch, or perch, you might want to check with your waiter or waitress.
It could be yellow perch from another lake, which is the same fish you'd find in Lake Erie.
It could be zander, a popular European game fish that is a type of walleye.
Or it could be Euro perch. That perch, often farm-raised in Europe, looks nearly identical to the Lake Erie product.
"When you see lake perch on the menu, what a lot of them do is, it may not be from Lake Erie," said Art Peters, owner of Peters Seafood in Girard. "There's a chance it could be, but it might be from Poland.''
Peters distributes Lake Erie yellow perch to about 30 restaurants in the Erie area.
Restaurants that offer Lake Erie yellow perch are proud to serve the popular dinner, lunch or sandwich item, said Chuck Murray, Lake Erie fisheries biologist for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Steve Evans, owner of Syd's Place restaurant, 2992 West Lake Road in Millcreek Township, said he believes that few Erie restaurants serve Lake Erie yellow perch.
"I've been in this business for 30 years, and I know what perch is. I've never served anything but the real perch,'' said Evans, adding it's his biggest year-round seller.
Joe Whitty, general manager of Joe Root's Grill, said Lake Erie perch is that restaurant's top seller, too. The Millcreek restaurant, at 2826 W. Eighth St., won't buy a yellow perch imitation, he said.
"We've had consistency in the same product for nearly 12 years now. There's no reason to change it. It's the best you can get, so why mess with anything else?'' Whitty said.
Jake Holdsworth, manager of Freeport Restaurant, at 11104 Lake Road in North East Township, said his menu also offers truth in advertising.
Fresh Lake Perch - News
Weyand's yellow perch comes from the Ontario and Ohio waters of Lake Erie, owner David Bloom said. Syd's Place also buys the fish from another distributor, CA Curtze Co. Food Products, 1717 E. 12th St., which gets its fresh perch from a Lake Erie
In southern Lake Erie, perch are beginning to be caught, although waters have been cloudy near the shoreline. Brest Bay seemed the most active. Perch are being caught near Luna Pier in 15 feet of water. Detroit River: White bass are still being taken
Channel catfish are tearing it up in 4-15 feet of water on the southern end of Lake Wylie in the major creeks. Fresh cut baits are the ticket to a great bite. Blue catfish are best sought after in the river arms where anchoring in current is producing
In southern Lake Erie, perch are beginning to be caught, although waters have been cloudy near the shoreline. Brest Bay seemed the most active. Perch are being caught near Luna Pier in 15 feet of water. Detroit River: White bass are still being taken
In neighboring Berks County try Blue Marsh Lake and Hopewell Lake for most of these species, including pike and pickerel. Walleye and their smaller cousins, the sauger, both basically oversized perch, are especially popular with warmwater fishermen in
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We found Lake Victoria fresh perch from our local supermarket. Even though it’s not a Caribbean fish I thought that mango salsa would be fine with it and it was. We grilled the perch in a fish basket and served the mango salsa on top with grilled vegetables on the side. The mango salsa I think would be great for red snapper, tilapia, shrimp, shark or just about any fish.
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Blended oil using half canola and half olive oil (brushed on both sides of fish)
Salt and fresh ground pepper
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The grilled vegetables this time were grape tomatoes, brussell sprouts, red pepper, red onion, carrots, and red potato (red was our theme today) ~ place in large bowl drizzle a little olive oil, add salt and fresh ground pepper, toss with hands. Grill for approximately 20 minutes in grill basket, tossing so as not to burn.
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