(Quebec) The Quebec government on Monday announced the discovery of a tube goby, an invasive species, in Lake Saint-François in Montérégie and fears it could eventually be found throughout the river stretch. Saint Laurent.
Posted at 9:43am
The Department of Environment, Combating Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks says the observation made in the Saint-Zotique sector, near the Ontario border, is the first of its kind.
Authorities report that the tube-nosed goby can have negative impacts on biodiversity. It is a predator for the eggs or larvae of species native to the area where it settles and it competes with other fish that feed on the bottom of the water.
Aquatically invasive species are difficult to control once established in an environment. In the case of the goby, its incursion into the Great Lakes suggests that its occurrence may be gradually increasing.
The department reports that the tube goby was introduced to North America in the 1990s in the St. Clair River on the Ontario-Michigan state line through ballast water discharge. ships from Europe. The most likely hypothesis for its arrival in Quebec is dispersal from Lake Ontario downstream of the St. Lawrence River.
Authorities claim that the tube-nosed goby is still very rare in Quebec. They are asking fishermen to report any sightings of this species to the Ministry to better identify their occurrence in the Saint Lawrence River system.
If a fisherman believes they have caught an invasive species, they must release the fish if they do not wish to keep it for their own consumption. In particular, the aim is to prevent the unnecessary death of misidentified native fish.