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Yellowfin goby (Acanthogobius flavimanus)

Yellowfin goby is an introduced fish recorded in Australia, where it can compete with native fish for food and resources. It can alter fish communities and is a species for land and water managers to watch in estuaries and connected waterways.

Key facts

Type: Pest animal, fish.

Native to: Asia, including China, Japan, North Korea, Malaysia, Russia and Viet Nam.

Established in: NSW, VIC, SA.

Other names: Oriental goby, Japanese river goby, Spotted goby, Mahaze.

Best time to act: Survey during winter to early spring, when adults migrate downstream to estuaries to spawn.

Identification

  • Adults have a large head and an elongated body, and can grow to 30 cm long.
  • The body is pale brown with a series of dark saddles and spots.
  • Yellow ventral fins are present at all ages; juveniles also have pale yellow anal fins.
  • The pelvic fins are fused into a sucking disc, which helps the fish cling to surfaces or enter burrows.
  • Look-alike: Other gobies may look similar, but their ventral fins can be clear, white, grey or black rather than yellow.

Where it lives

In Australia, it occurs in bays and estuaries on muddy or sandy bottoms, and can also be found in freshwater stream reaches just above tidal influence.

Why it matters

  • It competes with native fish for food and other resources.
  • Introductions have been associated with altered fish communities and faster declines of native species.
  • In California, introductions have been associated with extirpations of the endangered tidewater goby from some water bodies.

How it spreads

  • Ship ballast water and hull fouling are reported pathways for introductions.
  • Eggs may also be carried on fouling organisms, such as oysters growing on ship hulls.
  • Larvae disperse rapidly after absorbing the yolk sac and can move with the tides.

Control methods

  • Seek advice from the relevant state or territory fisheries or biosecurity agency before attempting control, and use only authorised methods.
  • Where removal is approved, targeted netting or trapping by trained operators may be used; avoid moving live fish to other waters.
  • Arrange humane handling and disposal in accordance with local requirements, and report suspected new occurrences to the relevant state or territory agency.
  • Herbicides are not a control method for this fish.

Site hygiene and welfare

  • Before moving between waterways, clean and dry boats, nets and other fishing gear, and drain water from bilges, live wells and other compartments.
  • Do not transfer live fish, bait, eggs or water between water bodies.
  • Use methods set out in the national model codes of practice and standard operating procedures for the species.
  • Coordinate control with neighbours and the local government biosecurity plan, as isolated effort is quickly undone by reinvasion.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Prohibited matter. Report it to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 within 24 hours and do not move or deal with it. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Notifiable aquatic pest. It must not be possessed, bought, sold, moved or released in NSW, and you must notify NSW DPIRD within one working day of finding it. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Noxious aquatic species. Declared a noxious aquatic species under the Fisheries Act 1995, so it must not be brought into Victoria, kept, sold, moved or released into waters. Report any sighting to the Victorian Fisheries Authority on 13 FISH (13 3474).
  • South Australia: Noxious species. Declared a noxious species under the Fisheries Management Act 2007, so it must not be brought into South Australia, kept, sold or released, and it must not be returned to the water alive. Report any sighting to PIRSA FISHWATCH on 1800 065 522.
  • Western Australia: Noxious fish. Prescribed as a noxious fish under the Fish Resources Management Regulations 1995, so it must not be brought into WA, kept, sold or released. Report any sighting to FishWatch on 1800 815 507.
  • Tasmania: Declared pest. It is a declared pest under the Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas). Report sightings to Biosecurity Tasmania and follow any management requirements.
  • Northern Territory: Not a declared pest. Not on an NT declared or prohibited list. Check with the NT Government before keeping, moving or releasing it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Declared pest, prohibited. It is a declared pest throughout the ACT. Dealing with it, such as selling, moving or keeping it, is prohibited.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board

Sources