Page 3 - Round Goby Flipbook

Everyone can Even in the lower Fox River below the Rapid Croche
help stop the spread of AIS! dam, available evidence indicates that the round gobies
Boaters, paddlers, and anglers can migrated upstream from Green Bay into the lower Fox
River through the lock system and via tributaries to that
follow these steps: portion of the river.

INSPECT your boat, trailer, and equipment After consulting with the DNR, FRNSA made the
for AIS. decision to close the Menasha lock in order to help
REMOVE any attached aquatic plants or prevent the spread of the round gobies into the
animals before launching or leaving a waterbody Winnebago System. Their decision is consistent with
DRAIN all water from boats, motors, and ALL NR40 regulations and FRNSA’s mission which is posted on
equipment. their website:
NEVER MOVE live fish away from a waterbody. “rehabilitation, repair, replacement, operation, and
maintenance of the navigational system. It is also a goal
Make sure that you are not purchasing of the FRNSA to work with the latest science, experts,
prohibited or restricted species and never and representatives from the DNR to prevent the spread
transplant or release plants or animals into of aquatic invasive species into the Lake
Winnebago system.”
lakes, streams, wetlands, or stormwater
ponds. Properly dispose of FRNSA is also working to create a realistic plan
unwanted plants and to resume operation of the Menasha lock to allow
animals. passage of boats between Little Lake Butte des Morts
and Lake Winnebago while still protecting Winnebago
Why was the decision made to close from invasion by the gobies. Several plans have been
the Menasha lock after an angler suggested and are under further consideration. More
details can be found on their website.
report of a round goby?
2
The initial report of a round goby being caught
by an angler in Little Lake Butte des Morts in August
2015 triggered a large scale sampling response
(thousands of hours of traditional angling efforts as well
as deploying hundreds of small fish traps) to confirm the
presence of round gobies and to see if, in fact, there
was more than one goby in the lake.

This type of response is outlined in the WI
Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) response
framework for invasive species and a 2016 draft of the
guidance can be viewed online. The detection of
numerous round gobies by DNR staff led to
confirmation of an established population of gobies
below the Neenah and Menasha dams before the
decision was made by the Fox River Navigational
System Authority (FRNSA) to close the Menasha lock,
which hydrologically connects Little Lake Butte des Morts
to Lake Winnebago.

Once introduced, round gobies are capable of
swimming upstream to new locations, and there has
been documentation of rapid spread throughout the
Great Lakes.