Goby Population Found in Duluth-Superior Harbor

 

Two Superior, Wisconsin, teenagers have discovered a thriving population of round gobies in the Duluth-Superior harbor. Tom and Cody Krause (ages 15 and 13, respectively) reported their finding to the University of Minnesota Sea Grant program on July 23 after reading a Duluth News-Tribune article on July 20.

Avid anglers, the Krauses often fish together for yellow perch. They first caught 30 round gobies 2.5 to 5.5 inches long on July 20. They caught more in the passing week, for a total of 83 gobies. They gave 29 frozen gobies to Sea Grant.

"The fish they caught are definitely round gobies," said Doug Jensen, Exotic Species Information Center coordinator for Minnesota Sea Grant. "The gobies come from a reproducing population—there were three mature males in addition to young gobies. Unfortunately, this is the most significant report of a goby infestation in the Duluth-Superior harbor to date."

Round gobies were first found in Lake Superior in the summer of 1995. They now infest all of the Great Lakes, except Lake Ontario. Gobies are considered undesirable because they compete with native fishes for habitat, change the balance of the ecosystem, and are a nuisance to anglers.

The sighting by the Krauses is one of seven confirmed in the upper Great Lakes this summer and reported to Sea Grant.

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Last updated 02 March 1999 Karl
All contents copyright 1999 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute

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