The round goby, a non-native fish from the Black and Caspian seas, was first discovered in North American waters in 1990 and has since spread to all of the Great Lakes. The goby has been moving inland from Lake Michigan toward the Mississippi River basin via the Illinois Waterway System since 1993. The most downstream collection of a round goby, to date, was verified this April just below the Brandon Road Lock and Dam at the Joliet Midwest Generation Power Plant. This recent collection places the round goby almost 50 miles inland from Calumet Harbor on Lake Michigan and approximately 15 percent down the length of the Illinois Waterway on its way to the Mississippi River.
The exotic round goby is a bottom-feeding species known for its aggressive feeding and defensive behavior, and prolific reproductive rate. These traits make them a threat to native fish and a nuisance to anglers. Mike Conlin, chief of fisheries for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said, The round goby has received national attention since increasing populations could seriously impact sportfishing industries in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. This and all other invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species have the potential to upset the natural balance of the ecosystem and cause long-term damage.
The Illinois Waterway System in the Chicago area consists of several interconnecting channels and natural rivers that provide a direct link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basins. These huge basins encompass portions of 30 states and two provinces. Therefore, the potential economic and environmental impact of invasive species, such as round goby, could be widespread and significant.
The Illinois Waterway System currently provides an easy avenue for nonindigenous species to travel in either direction between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basins. The zebra mussel is one of the most recent invaders to spread from the Great Lakes into the Illinois and Mississippi rivers via this pathway, and the round goby is currently poised to follow the same route. Other nonindigenous species, like grass and bighead carp, are traveling in the opposite direction and have established breeding populations in the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, and may soon disperse into the Great Lakes.
In order to prevent and slow gobies and other nonidigenous species from spreading throughout these basins, the Nonindigenous Species Act of 1996 authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study and determine the feasibility of an aquatic nuisance species dispersal barrier as a demonstration project. An interagency advisory panel was assembled and recommended a full-water column electrical barrier as the most practical strategy for slowing the spread of round goby and preventing the movements of other nonindigenous fish between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi basin. This strategy has been successfully tested in both the laboratory and in the field. According to Rebecca Jaramilla, project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Construction of the barrier, located in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Romeoville, Ill., is slated to begin this June and will be completed by fall.
Round gobies have been collected about 11 miles downstream from the barrier site. Pam Thiel, project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service=s La Crosse Fishery Resources Office and coordinator of the monitoring, said, Even though gobies are past the barrier site, their population numbers are still relatively low. The barrier will help slow the downstream spread of the higher upstream goby concentrations. The barrier will also deter other invasive fish like ruffe coming from the Great Lakes and bighead carp moving toward Lake Michigan. In addition, the technologies developed from this demonstration project can be transferred to other areas with similar problems.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Services manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System of more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
