Round Goby
Round goby displace native fish and take over habitat. They are aggressive predators that will prey on the eggs of sport fishes like bass and trout.
Common Name: Round goby
Scientific Name: Neogobius melanostomus
Native Range: Black and Caspian seas in central Eurasia
Background
Round gobies are small fish with a large head and bulging eyes. They generally grow 3-6 inches in length but can get as large as 10 inches long. There are similar looking native fish, like sculpins and darters, but the key identification characteristics of round goby are a dark spot on the dorsal fin and a single fused, suction-cup-like pelvic fin. Round goby can reproduce several times per year with clutches yielding between 100 and 4,000 eggs.
Habitat
Round goby are bottom dwelling fish that can inhabit lakes, ponds, and streams. They prefer areas that offer rocks or plants in shallow areas.
NYS Distribution Map
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Identification
Round goby has a single, fused pelvic fin, a dark spot on the dorsal fin, and bulging eyes.
Impact
Round goby displace native fish and take over habitat. They are aggressive predators that will prey on the eggs of sport fishes like bass and trout. Round gobies can eat zebra and quagga mussels, which can move heavy metals and diseases like botulism into the food web. They are a nuisance to anglers because they steal bait off of fishhooks.
Prevention and Control
There is very little that can be done to remove round gobies once they are established in a waterbody, so education and prevention are key. Boaters can help keep this species from spreading from waterbody to waterbody by practicing proper Clean, Drain, Dry techniques, and anglers can do their part by only buying certified bait, collecting bait at the waterbody that they are fishing at, and by never dumping unused bait into a stream or waterbody.
