2. What is a European Ruffe?
A European Ruffe is a small
fish that originated in Europe.
An adult is 4 to 6 inches long
very rarely 8 inches long.
They could resemble a number
of young fish such as: walleye ,
sauger, yellow perch, Johnny
darter, or trout perch.
Careful, because it has hard
sharp spines!
It has spots between the rays
on the dorsal fins. They have
slightly downturned mouths.
There are no scales on their
heads. They are very, very
slimy!
3. How did it get here?
•This invasive fish got here
by fresh ballast water of
ocean going vessels.
•The fish could have
accidentally gotten in bait
buckets.
•They were dumped in the
St. Louis River later
traveling to almost all of
the Great Lakes.
•They feel at home in a
variety of environments.
4. How is this invasive
species harmful?
•This fish steals food
from other native fish.
•It eats other fish's eggs.
•The yellow perch and
other native fish are
going hungry.
•They may be small but
they sure are harmful.
5. What is the
Economic impact?
•Fishing and sport fishing
make $4,000,000,000 each
year.
•They are stopping that from
happening, people are losing
jobs.
•Along with overfishing and
pollution, invasive species
pose the greatest economic
threat to fisheries in the
• Great Lakes Region.
6. What steps were
being taken or are
being taken?
•They released predators
such as the Walleye,
Northern pike, and the
Muskie.
•It is now illegal to
harvest wild bait fish
from Ruffe infested
waters such as Lake
Superior, its tributaries
in Minnesota,
Wisconsin, and
Michigan.
7. What can we do to
prevent further
spread of this
organism?
•Don’t use Ruffe as
fish bait.
•Learn how to
identify a Ruffe.
•Know what to do if
you find a Ruffe.
8. What do I think
about this invasive
species?
•I think it is a threat
because it harms and eats
other fishes eggs. It
prevents fishers from doing
their jobs and for that
reason lots of people get
fired!!
•I think that it is important
to know what to do when
you find a Ruffe and learn
how to identify a Ruffe,
and to report it
immediately.
