Like the zebra mussel and Eurasian ruffe, the round goby is native to the Black and Caspian seas. Round gobies were first discovered in North America along with their cousin the tubenose goby in 1990 in the St. Clair River near Detroit. The tubenose goby did not thrive, but the round goby quickly spread into lakes Erie and Michigan where large infestations are now found. The first goby discovered in Lake Superior was detected in the Duluth-Superior harbor in July, 1995. Gobies also infest Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers.
Gobies eat aquatic insects, mussels and snails.
They can grow up to a foot long. Gobies are considered undesirable because they can compete with native fishes for habitat and change the balance of the ecosystem. They are already causing problems for other bottom-dwelling Great Lakes natives, especially sculpins. Gobies eat fish eggs and young, take over optimal habitat, spawn multiple times a season, and can survive poor water quality conditions. The card was produced in cooperation with the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and state natural resource agencies.