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Phone: 989-356-5102
Fax: 989-356-4651
Address:
145 Water St, Room 204
Alpena, MI 49707Round Goby Surveillance and Monitoring
Round goby
Neogobius melanostomus
The round goby, Neogobius melanostomus, is a freshwater fish native to Eurasia. It is thought to have been transported and accidentally released into the Great Lakes from the ballast water of ships traveling from Europe. The round goby was first reported in Lake St. Clair in 1990. It has since spread into each of the Great Lakes where their populations have been growing.
Learn where round goby have been found
The round goby is an aggressive bottom dwelling fish. Males actively defend eggs laid in rocky crevices. Gobies are able to spawn multiple times during the mating season. They have a sensitive sensory system and are able to locate prey quickly and feed in the dark. These characteristics raise concerns that gobies may compete with some native species for food and spawning habitat. They may also be a nuisance to fishermen because gobies are quick to attack bait, preventing anglers from catching their target sportfish.
Learning to identify the round goby and knowing where they are found are important steps toward preventing or deterring their spread to new areas.
Learn to identify the round goby
Surveillance and Monitoring Activities
The Alpena NFWCO conducts annual surveillance efforts to detect new populations of round goby, Eurasian ruffe, and other invasives in nearshore areas of Lake Huron and the St. Marys River. Bottom trawling is the main form of sampling gear that is used during the survey, however other gear types are used as well.
An annual report is compiled summarizing surveillance activities and catch summaries for US waters of Lake Huron and the St. Marys River are available on-line. Confirmed sightings are reported to the USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database.
View the 2006 surveillance summary for Huron and the St. Marys River (pdf 245 Kb)
View catch summaries for Lake Huron and St. Marys River sampling locations: 2005 | 2006
The round goby is a bottom dwelling fish and is slightly flattened on the bottom of its body. It is the only fish found in the Great Lakes that has a single, fused pelvic fin. Identifying characteristics are shown on the image below.
Round goby distribution in the Great Lakes Basin. Image provided by USGS.Round goby were first found in the Great Lakes in 1990 at Lake St. Clair. They have spread to each of the five Great Lakes and into the Mississippi River system. They are common in Lake Huron and have been found at most ports and river mouths within the lake. In areas were goby are captured, they commonly become the most abundant benthic fish species.
