Round Goby
The Department of Spatial Economics and Policy of the Maritime Institute at the Gdynia Maritime University is a Partner in the INTERREG BSR ROUND GOBY Project
The international project Round Goby – Promoting Round Goby commercial fishing in the Baltic Sea – is being implemented in cooperation with partners from Germany, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania under the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021–2027 and financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The Round Goby project aims to develop concepts for commercially viable round goby fishing, support authorities in implementing an appropriate legal framework, and assist businesses in producing appropriate fishing gear and fish products for local markets. Universities, research institutes, local government organisations, ports, as well as representatives of the fishing industry and processing plants, are participating in the Round Goby project.
Fisheries in the Baltic Sea region are currently experiencing severe restrictions on the total allowable catch of traditional fish species (e.g., cod, herring). At the same time, the round goby, which is an invasive species in the Baltic Sea, is not subject to these limits. Since it was first observed in the 1990s, the round goby has become the dominant species in many coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, steadily increasing its range and abundance. This has several negative impacts on epibenthic molluscs and native fish eggs. Although the round goby is widely consumed in the Black Sea region (Bulgaria, Ukraine), it is unknown to Baltic consumers, and fish processing lines are not adapted to its small size. Latvia is currently the only country in the Baltic Sea region that commercially fishes for round goby for export and has a management system in place for this species.
The Round Goby project aims to promote round goby fishing by developing jointly approved catch methods and reporting systems, as well as pilot production and promotion of local round goby-based products for Baltic markets. Profitable round goby fishing in the Baltic Sea has the potential to provide fishermen with new opportunities while reducing the population of this invasive species, which threatens the biodiversity of Baltic Sea waters.
Duration: November 2023– October 2026
GMU budget for the Round Goby project: EUR 240,964.80
More about the project: https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/roundgoby/
The project is co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education under the "International Co-financed Projects" programme.
The project received PLN 182,168 in funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Total project value: PLN 1,031,112. According to the agreement of May 29, 2025.