Sean Cavaliere (SUNY Cobleskill) and Tom Brooking (Cornell University) tend trap nets at the mouth of Hayden Creek in Otsego Lake.

SUNY Cobleskill Students Find Invasive Fish in Otsego Lake

White perch, a non-native specie, were captured for the first time in Otsego Lake this spring during a netting survey conducted by two SUNY Cobleskill students.  Fisheries and Aquaculture students Joe Lydon of Barrytown and Sean Cavaliere of Cortlandt Manor led the survey collecting data on walleye movements, spawning site fidelity, angler success and population size. 
According to Cavaliere, the survey is designed to recognize the potential adverse impact white perch or any other non-native species may have on a watershed.

While only two white perch have been discovered in Otsego Lake thus far, these were the first captured in the entire Susquehanna drainage north of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.   An abundant population of white perch may quickly out-compete other species native to or desired in a lake.  They have been known to target the eggs of walleye and other game species.  White perch thrive in a wide variety of ecosystems and have the ability to spawn in almost any condition or substrate, making them a likely candidate to overpopulate.

 “White perch introduced into a headwater source like Otsego Lake may spread throughout the Susquehanna drainage system, ultimately impacting ecosystems and fisheries hundreds of miles from the initial stocking,” said SUNY Cobleskill Fisheries and Wildlife Department Chair Dr. John Foster. “While white perch may not become abundant in Otsego Lake, because of its depth and fish fauna, they are more likely to become abundant further downstream in Goodyear Lake and the Susquehanna River.”

Tom Brooking, a Cornell University Fisheries Researcher said if white perch remain at low numbers, they will have little impact on the Otsego Lake ecosystem or fish community.  According to the SUNY Cobleskill students the critical question is:  What are the chances that white perch will become abundant?

Brooking feels alewife predation on white perch larvae should be sufficient to keep white perch from overpopulating in Otsego Lake.

NYSDEC Regional Fisheries Manager Norm McBride suspects an overzealous fisherman may have introduced white perch to Otsego Lake.  “People thinking they are ‘Johnny Applefish,’ stocking fish indiscriminately, are clueless about the potential adverse impact on existing fish populations,” he said. “Unauthorized introduction of alewife into Schoharie Reservoir and Canadarago Lake has placed the excellent self-sustaining walleye fisheries in those waters at risk.”

In New York state, it is unlawful to transfer fish between waters or to stock fish without first receiving a permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Anyone who catches or finds a white perch in Otsego Lake, Goodyear Lake or Susquehanna River is asked to remove it from the water if possible, and contact the NYSDEC Region-4 fisheries office (607-652-2632). Anglers are also encouraged to contact the NYSDEC if they capture a walleye with a jaw tag or contact Dr. John Foster at 518-255-5243 if they find a 2” cylindrical sonic tag in the abdomen of a walleye.

The survey was supported by the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, Cornell University and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Bureau of Fisheries.

First white perch captured in Otsego Lake and the northern Susquehanna drainage.