Freshwater Perches & Darters

Percidae is the second largest family of fishes in North America, after Cyprinidae (Minnows). They are not related to saltwater Perches, which they superficially resemble.

Darter

Darters are diminutive perches that inhabit quiet or slowly flowing waters. They swim in hops and spurts, mainly just sitting on the bottom as they search for the small invertebrates on which they feed. The Tessellated Darter Etheostoma olmstedi ( right, to 4.5" ) is the commonest in the area. Many midwestern species are brightly colored, but we are not so lucky, all of ours are drab.

Walleye

Walleyes Stezostideon vitrium are enormous darters that grow up to 2 ft and 20 pounds. Although not native to New Jersey, they are widely introduced for sport fishermen. They are aggressive predators of other fishes. Sauger is similar but smaller.

Yellow Perch

Yellow Perch Perca flavescens grow to 16 inches. They travel in schools, sometimes of hundreds of individuals, and feed along the bottom on almost anything they encounter.

Juvenile Walleye
Juvenile Walleye

Redbird Subway Car - in service
Type:
250 "Redbird" subway cars - NYC Subway system - steel bodies / frames
Built:
1959-1960 - American Car & Foundry - Model R26 # 7750-7859
1960-1961 - American Car & Foundry - Model R28 # 7860-7959
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R29 # 8570-8805
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R33 # 8806-9345
1963-1964 - St. Louis Car - Model R36 # 9346-9769
Specs:
( 51 x 9 ft ) 15,000 to 18,000 pounds (body)
Sunk:
50 cars - Cape May Reef on July 3, 2003
50 cars - Deepwater Reef on July 16, 2003
50 cars - Atlantic City Reef on July 25, 2003
50 cars - Garden State North Reef on Sept 3, 2003
50 cars - Shark River Reef on Oct 14, 2003
619 cars - Delaware Reef 11 from Aug 2001 to Nov 2003
Sponsor:
New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
anti-
Sponsor:
Environmental group Clean Ocean Action lobbied aggressively and almost successfully to prevent the use of these subway cars as artificial reefs in New Jersey, resulting in most of the cars going to other states.
GPS:
too many to list, and all gone anyway
Depth:
Depths vary by location between 80 ft and 130 ft.

Printed from njscuba.net