For Immediate Release
July 24, 2003
The round goby, a non-indigenous fish native to Eastern Europe, has been found in the Trent Severn Waterway near Hastings, Ontario. Averaging three inches in size, round gobies are an aggressive bottom-dwelling fish, which out compete native fish and feed on the eggs and fry of several types of important fish species. Gobies are extremely prolific and are able to spawn several times in a season, allowing their populations to increase rapidly.
Gobies were first discovered in Ontario in the St. Clair River in 1990. They were transported in the ballast water of ocean-going vessels originating from the Black Sea in Eastern Europe. Round gobies have since been found in all of the Great Lakes, and in some locations at densities of more than 100 fish per square metre. Prior to their recent discovery in the Trent Severn Waterway, gobies had previously been observed at the outlets of the waterway in the Bay of Quinte and Port Severn in 1999.
Fisheries biologists at the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, (O.F.A.H.), are seriously concerned that if gobies become established in the Trent Severn Waterway, they could gain access to all of the watersheds that connect the waterway from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay in central Ontario. This would have devastating implications for native fish populations in the region.