The goby’s ability to survive in poor environments makes it easy to take over an area.

As mentioned above, the Round Goby was accidentally introduced into the North American Great Lakes by way of ballast water transfer in cargo ships, in common speak, a large container ship dumped excess water containing foreign species. Some would argue that this was intentional due to carelessness.

They were first discovered in North America in the St. Clair River in 1990/89, the round goby is considered an invasive species. It has a significant ecological and economic impact on those regions it has invaded as it competes with native species like trout and salmon by consuming their food and reducing their numbers.

Round gobies are voracious predators causing a reduction of numbers of larger predators.

The goby’s ability to survive in poor environments makes it easy to take over an area.

Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye, salmon and trout benefit greatly from the abundance of the Round Goby, and the Round Goby helps keep the Zebra Muscles in check. So, for many anglers, the Round Goby is not seen as an issue, but a solution.

Some are concerned with the Round Goby consuming so many Zebra Muscles as the Zebra Muscles consume toxins such as PCBs. As so many Gobies are consumed, there is fear that the toxins will now move further up the food chain. A fear that has proven to be true.

Round Gobys have spread rapidly throughout the Great Lakes since their discovery back in the early 1990s. It is believed that they were discovered in 1990 or 1989. These creatures are very competitive and are able to reproduce and populate new areas quite easily.

In addition to habitat domination, Round Gobys will also eat the eggs and the young of indigenous fish, which is a great concern to anglers and conservation authorities alike. The Round Gobies they arrived via the ballast water of transoceanic vessels.

Good Invasion or Bad Invasion

The Round Goby is an invasive species, there is no arguing against that. However, there are many people that believe that it is a good thing for the Great Lakes: it cuts down on the growth of Zebra muscles, which are very bad for the Great Lakes; it provides food for top game fish; and it has helped bring some species back from the brink.

However, there is no argument that the Round Goby has cuased the decline of other native species. Some of which may die out and never return to the ecosystem.