Underwater Cannons For Round Goby Control?
Interesting stuff going on with the Round Gobys in the Great Lakes.
If anyone has fished the Great Lakes and Lake Erie, you probably have heard mixed opinions on the issue of Gobys in the lakes. Originally introduced into the St Clair River, they quickly spread through all of the Great Lakes. httpv://youtu.be/z5ZABX6D-iY
There have been concerns about the predatory nature of these rapidly multiplying fish. As stated in the article below, they are the most common fish in Lake Michigan and are very commonly found in Lake Erie.
The problem is that they eat eggs. They scour the bottom of the lakes for food, frequently devouring eggs of game species such as smallmouth bass, trout, walleye, etc.
Here is an excerpt from the Goerie.com website regarding using underwater cannons to scare off or possible kill these invaders during spawning.
Scientists will fire an underwater cannon in parts of Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay this summer, hoping to scatter the nuisance fish that eat native trout and herring eggs. If it works, the cannon also could be used here. The target fish — the round goby — has upended the food web in Lake Erie. “It has changed the ecology in fundamental ways,” said Jim Grazio, a Great Lakes biologist for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The goby is a small, bottom-dwelling fish native to Eurasia. It was discovered in the St. Clair River in 1990 and quickly spread across the Great Lakes. It is now the most common fish in Lake Michigan….continued
For the original article by Robb Frederrick at the Erie Times News , click here
The author doesn’t address the fact that our beloved smallmouth bass have had an all you can eat buffet feasting on the Round Gobys. Smallmouth bass love feeding on Gobys and smallmouth fishermen have enjoyed the PIGS being caught in Lake Erie in recent years. As seen in the video of the scuba diver on Lake Erie, there are lots of these slow moving fish that are to be eaten.
Do you think the underwater cannons will be successful or do you think it is a waste of taxpayer money?