Species profile
Round Goby
Neogobius melanostomus
At a glance
Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an IUCN Least Concern bony-fish species regulated in 8 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
Confirmed by 3,252 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Ontario, Michigan, and New York the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Introduced to the Great Lakes via ship ballast water discharged from the Black Sea region.
- First detected in North America in Lake St. Clair in 1990.
- A fused pelvic fin forms a suction disc that anchors them in fast currents.
- A bold black spot on the first dorsal fin distinguishes them from native gobies.
- Males aggressively guard egg nests and can spawn with multiple females per season.
Where Round Goby are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Round Goby
Background
The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is a euryhaline bottom-dwelling goby of the family Gobiidae, native to central Eurasia including the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Round gobies have established large non-native populations in the Baltic Sea, several major Eurasian rivers, and the North American Great Lakes.
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Round Goby article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other bony fish on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.