Zander
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| Zander | ||||||||||||||
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| Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Zander is a species of fish. The scientific name is Sander lucioperca (or Stizostedion lucioperca), and it is closely allied to perch. Zander are often called pike-perch as they resemble the pike with their elongated body and head, and the perch with their spiny dorsal fin. Zander are not, as is commonly believed, a pike and perch hybrid. In Europe, a second species (Lucioperca wolgensis) is limited to rivers in southern Russia and the basin of the Danube.
The zander is a common and popular game fish in Europe. It is often eaten, and it may reach 15 kilograms[1] in size, although typical catches are considerably smaller. Zander are not indigenous to the UK, but was introduced into the East Anglian broads (large, partly artificial waterways) in the 20th century, and spread rapidly at the expense of native fishes.[2].
Their success in establishing themselves is due to a number of factors, one of which is that they are particularly well adapted to life in the slow-flowing, sparsely vegetated, rather murky waters that comprise so many of the British lowland rivers[3]. And so, as zander thrive in water with rather low visibility, pike often dominates the predator fish niche in clear water. However, they need plenty of oxygen and soon disappear from eutrophic areas.
[edit] Miscellaneous
In 2004, it was revealed that some restaurants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota in the United States were serving imported zander instead of the closely related North American walleye (the state fish, and a popular food in the region). While zander and walleye are almost indistinguishable by taste, the restaurants were selling the European fish under the name "walleye", which is considered an illegal practice. An investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration followed.
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[edit] References
- ^ "International Angling Rules" (IGFA) Accessed 19 November 2008)
- ^ British Waterways included zander among a "dirty dozen" non-native species most likely to harm native wildlife along rivers in Great Britain ((BBC News) " 'Dirty dozen' threaten waterways", 14 August 2008 Accessed 14 August 2008).
- ^ "Foreign Fishes", The Living Countryside magazine (issue 36), p.706
- Sander lucioperca (TSN 650172). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 19 March 2006.
- Boyd Huppert (December 7, 2004). Walleye or Zander? What Are You Really Eating?. KARE.
- FishBase information on Zander
- International Angling Rules. [1]
