Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Yellowfin Goby (Acanthogobius flavimanus) - Uncertain Risk

Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.

Acanthogobius flavimanus, the Yellowfin Goby, is a freshwater fish native to eastern Asia that inhabits marine, brackish, and fresh waters. This species has been introduced and is now established in Australia, Mexico, and the United States. Long-distance introductions have occurred via ballast water, while the use of A. flavimanus as bait has contributed to local spread. Globally, A. flavimanus is commercially fished and also is present in the aquarium trade and Chinese medicine. A. flavimanus has established populations in estuaries in California, where the species is suspected of competing with native sculpins and the endangered tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi), leading to reduced abundance and extirpations. Supporting evidence for these impacts of introduction is limited to a single sentence in two scientific papers. Without more rigorous scientific evidence, history of invasiveness remains “none documented.” This species has a high climate match with the contiguous United States, especially in the upper Midwest and along the West Coast. Because A. flavimanus requires salinity of at least 5 ppt to reproduce, this climate match is best interpreted as showing the areas where the species can survive in the contiguous United States, rather than the areas where establishment is possible. Further information is needed to determine whether this species is having a negative impact where introduced, so the certainty of this assessment is low. The overall risk assessment category for this species is uncertain.