Once abundant in California's Central Valley, the Sacramento perch was driven out of its native waters 50 years ago by disruptions to its natural habitat.
Thanks to a state pilot project, though, the fish is making a long-overdue comeback, CBS reported earlier this month, as 3,000 young perch were stocked in the pond at Granite Regional Park.
"This is history, returning the Sacramento perch to Sacramento where it was so numerous once upon a time," California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira told CBS.
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Definitely 👍 The Sacramento perch has an unusual conservation status. Though rare in its natural habitat, it has been successfully introduced into lakes and ponds across Western states. Lynette Williams Duman, a doctoral candidate, and Mason Rogers, a staff biologist, of the University of California Davis described the perch's expatriation as "a story of hope in an era that desperately needs it."
As Duman and Rogers noted, the changes to the perch's environment are irreversible, but the situation is far from hopeless. It may not be viable to fully restore the environment the Sacramento perch once thrived in, but there is still a great deal that can be done regarding environmental reconciliation.
Such efforts are an important way to combat biodiversity loss caused by environmental degradation. In addition to contributing to human needs such as food, fuel, and shelter, a vibrant ecosystem provides key services such as pollination, seed dispersal, and climate regulation. Community-led efforts such as this show that not only can big changes start locally, but they can also be enjoyable for all.
The Sacramento perch offers good sport for anglers, and its high tolerance for alkaline conditions and fluctuating temperatures makes it a perfect candidate to be stocked in cold waters that other sportfish cannot tolerate.
As the aptly named CDFW scientist Mark Fish put it, "They're just a really cool fish that everybody seems to get excited about."
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