Invasive fish species spotted in Grand River around Elora

The round goby has arrived at the Elora Gorge.

An invasive species of fish known for muscling their way to food at the expense of other bottom-dwellers, gobies have been present in the Great Lakes since the 1990s.

This year marks the first time they’ve been spotted in the Elora Gorge, where they’re not exactly hard to come by – one fisherman caught one within five minutes of casting his line on Thursday.

Round gobies are native to eastern Europe, and are believed to have spread to North America via cargo ships.

Their arrival has officials with the Grand River Conservation Authority asking anglers who come upon gobies to help control their spread.

Specifically, the GRCA wants anyone finding a round goby to euthanize and dispose of the creatures, rather than throw them back in the water.

The fish can be identified by black spots on their top fins, individual scales on their bodies, and fused pelvic fins.

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  The round goby originates in the Caspian Sea and is thought to have arrived in North America via the bilge of a ship moving into the Great Lakes. The fish was first reported in the Great Lakes in 1990, when one was found in the St. Clair River. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS / Douglas Tesner)