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The round goby Neogobius melanostomus is an invasive vertebrate species that is currently on the agenda of many environmental managers. In Europe, it is considered one of the “100 worst” invasive species (Vilà et al. 2009). The species is reported to alter the properties of aquatic ecosystems from contaminant recirculation to community restructuring to species extinctions (Hirsch et al. 2016a). Based on the common assumption that invasive goby eggs could be translocated attached to ship or boat hulls (Janáč et al. 2012; Roche et al. 2015; Kotta et al. 2016), hull cleaning approaches are increasingly being considered as a preventive management option to protect certain water bodies from round goby invasion. To support a management initiative in Switzerland, we searched Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, and PubMed for papers on round goby spread, round goby egg attachment, or round goby dispersal, and screened them for mention of boats, ships, hulls, eggs, or clutches. Russian publications were professionally translated. We identified several scientific, peerreviewed publications which report that the eggs of invasive Ponto-Caspian goby species travel attached to ship hulls, or which cite such reports. However, we could not identify any evidence on the matter. Ultimately, all reports were based on anecdotal reports, or on circumstantial evidence from goby behaviour (Figure 1, Table 1). We agree with the commonly proposed assumption that invasive Ponto-Caspian goby species could be travelling with ships. Indirect evidence supports this assumption. Both spread patterns and population genetics correlate with shipping routes (Wiesner 2005; Adrian-Kalchhauser et al. 2016). Invasive gobies have been observed close to boats, and they thrive in harbours (Vélez-Espino et al. 2010). Since invasive gobies accept artificial spawning substrates (Corkum et al. 1998; Hirsch et al. 2016b), and goby eggs are able to withstand the harsh conditions expected during ship travel or boat transport (Rubinoff and Rubinoff 1969; Hirsch et al. 2016b), it is possible that egg attachment plays a role in Ponto-Caspian goby translocations. Ballast water and bilge water constitute additional possible vectors. Preventive management approaches targeting boats and ships as vectors are therefore justified. Indirect support for a spread mode should suffice as an argument for preventive measures in the management of invasive species. By definition such measures must be installed at the point of risk perception and before the risk has become real to such an extent that it can be empirically tested. Nonetheless, the concept that Ponto-Caspian goby species attach their clutches to aquatic vessels is currently not supported by evidence and thus remains an untested hypothesis. We therefore urge that the hypothesis should be communicated as untested, and that evidence is presented if it exists.

The invasive round goby may attach its eggs to ships or boats – but there is no evidence