Louisiana Foods Fish Fact for:
PERCH

The good news in 1995 is that Lake Victoria perch (a.k.a., Nile perch) still offers the same steady, year round supply that it did a year ago. In fact, more so. The harvest jumped another 50,000 tons in 1994, to 550,000 tons, with 600,000 tons projected for 1995. The world's second largest lake has sustained a five-fold increase in 10 years, and still the species is underfished!

The problem is rising prices. Strong buying in Europe coupled with a weaker U.S. dollar has put upward pressure on prices in the U.S. Frozen fillets are now selling at $2.25 to $2.40/lb. FOB Atlanta, 10 to15% above last year. And fillets are being offered to U.S. buyers this year in more familiar (non-metric) increments: Under 8 oz., 8 to16 oz., 1 24 oz.

Israel is the leading buyer of Lake Victoria perch (using it to feed the country's military) followed by northern European (mainly Germany and England) and the United States. Market acceptance continues to grow in the U.S., where the product is used as a substitute for catfish, Canadian perch and even grouper.

Species Specifics
  • Lake Victoria perch, Lates niloticus, is harvested by three countries bordering Lake Victoria: Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
  • While Lake Victoria perch are harvested in "Third World" countries, there's nothing Third World about the industry, which increasingly consists of modern processing plants and European technology.
  • Lake Victoria "perch" is actually not a perch at all but a member of the snook family.
  • Formerly called Nile perch, Lake Victoria perch were introduced to their namesake in 1962, in a scheme to attract sport fishermen and tourists to the region.
  • The current biomass for Lake Victoria perch is estimated at 6.8 million tons. That's several times the annual world production of Atlantic cod.

Thumbs Down Under
An article in Nature magazine on the fishery in Lake Victoria so impressed Queensland minister Neil Turner that he called a halt to Australia's plans to farm the species. The article documented the drastic effects the fish had on other species in Lake Victoria. Turner noted that the perch could reach two meters in length and 200 kg in weight. "It would have the capacity and potential to eat the breeding stock of almost every northern Australian freshwater fish," said the minister.

Smoked Lake Victoria Perch
Smoked Lake Victoria perch has proven to be an excellent product. Cold smoking trials have had excellent results, and hot smoking is already widely practiced in Nairobi. The white fleshed fish has a high oil content ideal for smoking. However, a shortage of wood in some parts of Africa makes drying a more common preservation method.

Holy Fish of the Nile
Lake Victoria perch were held in such high esteem by the ancient Egyptians that they mummified them, burying them in individual tombs. In Upper Egypt, they were even worshipped as a god, and the Greeks named a city after them, Latopolis, "City of the Lates Fish." The Latin name is Lates niloticus. The fish is also pictured on Greek coins as well as on the walls of Egyptian tombs.

The above information is from the Seafood Leader, Vol. 15, No. 5.
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