Nov. 12, 2008 A round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) was caught
in late July off the Swedish coast near Karlskrona. This is the
first find of its kind in Sweden. The species, which originates
from the Black Sea and probably spread to the Baltic via ballast
water, has been found in the Gulf of Gdansk since 1990, in the
southern Baltic. Today it is one of the most common coastal
fishes there, so it was expected that it would show up in
Swedish waters sooner or later, according to researcher Gustaf
Almqvist of Stockholm University. Göran Pettersson is the man
behind the sensational catch, which he made as he was bottom
angling for perch in Saltsösund outside Karlskrona. Göran, who
is from Sibbehult in Scania, has experienced many fish catches
in the waters surrounding Karlskrona, but he had never seen this
species before. He was even more surprised when, later that day,
he caught three more of them. “I’m interested in fishing, and
after having compared them with pictures on the Internet and
from an account in the