White perch live in the Bay year-round and are never found in the ocean.
The fish frequent areas with level bottoms of compact silt, mud, sand or clay and show little preference for vegetation, structures or other shelter. Although they are able to live in salinities from zero to full strength seawater, white perch prefer waters of less than 18 percent salinity. Most abundant from the Hudson River to Chesapeake Bay, white perch are abundant year-round residents in all tributaries of the Bay from Havre de Grace, Maryland to Cape Henry, Virginia. From spring through autumn, white perch are present on flats and in channels, retreating to deep channels in the winter. Life Cycle White perch are semi-anadromous spawners.