The Hudson River has a new invasive species – round gobies.

State Department of Environmental Conservation fisheries staff members captured four at two locations in the Hudson River approximately 12 and 25 miles downstream of the Troy dam during routine fish sampling on July 13 and 14. This marks the the first documented occurrence of this invasive fish in the river.

The small, bait-size fish is native to the Black and Caspian seas and was likely introduced by ballast water to the Great Lakes in the 1990s. It has the potential to cause ecological and recreational impacts.