Fox River Authority Has Plan To Thwart Spread Of Invasive Fish

An invasive fish has been found in the Fox River and will affect the effort to restore the locks system that connects the river to Lake Winnebago, but the local authority charged with restoring the locks has a plan to keep the round goby out of the state’s largest inland lake.

The round goby comes from Eurasia and feeds on bass and bluegill eggs.

For the last decade, the Fox River Navigational Authority has worked to restore a series of 17 locks that connects the Bay of Green Bay to Winnebago. The lock at Rapide Croche is now closed to keep this type of fish out of the Winnebago system.

Bob Stark, the authority’s CEO, said that they’re working to prevent the round goby from spreading.

“It is very important to the authority to not allow any invasive species into areas where they aren’t already. We’re working very diligently with scientists to make sure that this won’t happen,” he said.

The authority plans to spend $3.8 million to build a boat transfer and washing station at Menasha by 2017. It would complete the 39-mile connection between the bay and Lake Winnebago.