Recently, the species was found in the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, which is close to the Lake Champlain Canal at the southern end of the lake. It’s unknown what could happen if they were to make it into the lake. “We do expect we would see a big impact on our native biodiversity,” Modley said.

The round goby spends its time lurking on the bottom of lakes in search of other species’ eggs, which could threaten future generations of species of fish who already call Lake Champlain home. The fish also are known carriers of diseases that other fish are susceptible to.