Round goby collected during the round goby early detection survey of the NYSCS. (Photo: Elizabeth Hasham, USFWS) - Photo Credit: n/a

Student intern, Elizabeth Hasham retrieving baited minnow traps used to collect round goby in the NYSCS. (Photo: Denise Clay, USFWS) - Photo Credit: n/a

Staff and a student intern from the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (LGLFWCO) conducted round goby early detection surveys in the New York State Canal System (NYSCS).  This survey monitors the expansion of round goby through the NYSCS.

Baited minnow traps were deployed in August 2009 at five sites along the Erie Canal and three sites in the Oswego Canal. In addition, a bottom trawl net was used for the first time in this survey.  Round goby were detected as far east as Wayneport Bridge in the town of Macedon, NY on the Erie Canal. This is currently the eastern-most confirmed catch of a round goby in the NYSCS.  No gobies were collected in the Oswego River survey. This information was reported to both the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the United States Geological Survey in Gainesville, FL.