General Features

Marine and Fishery Sciences (MAFIS) is the new scientific publication that replaces "Revista de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero" of INIDEP, which began to be published in 1979. New name and presentation format of MAFIS begins with number 32 volume 1 of 2019, with the intention of reaching a greater audience of marine and fishery science specialists by improving online version through the implementation of the OJS (Open Journal System) and indexing...

Contributions to and publications in MAFIS are free of charge. Published articles are freely available via Internet for immediate worldwide Open Access serving the best interests of the international research community. There are no suscription fees.

Submissions should be written in Spanish or English in one of the following categories:

Original Research Papers are generally based upon hypothesis-driven research providing new information to the knowledge base, not just to confirm previously published work. Descriptive studies presenting novel information or observations and/or scholarly insight that contributes to advancement of the state of information on a given scientific topic are also allowed.

Review Articles are welcome and should cover either narrow disciplinary subjects or broad issues requiring interdisciplinary discussion. They should contain not only an up-to-date review of scientific literature but also substantial scholarly interpretation of the quality of existing data, the status of knowledge, and the research required to advance knowledge of the subject are essential. Reviews consisting solely of a summary of published data without interpretation leading to new insights or recommendations for new research directions will be returned to the author without review. Structured reviews and meta-analyses must conform to PRISMA guidelines (see also https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2019.100777 and references therein).

Notes should differ from full papers on the basis of scope or completeness, rather than quality of research. They may report significant new results which represent a major breakthrough or new discovery arising from problems with narrow, well defined limits, or important findings that should therefore be published quickly. They should not be used for preliminary results. Papers must contain sufficient data to establish that the research has achieved reliable and significant results.  Their text should neither exceed 1500 words  (approximately six pages of typescript) excluding keywords, tables and references, nor be divided up into conventional sections.

Technical Papers should present new methods, devices or procedures for either research methodology or analysis-related techniques. It may also describe the state of a resource, a technical or scientific research problem and provides a new approach.

Marine Insights offers a space for presenting research findings in marine and fisheries sciences that are relevant to academia and important for the oceans and their resources. Unlike a traditional Review, this section adopts a more innovative approach, aiming to appeal to a broad audience, including policymakers and the general public. Therefore, it is important to ensure that they are written in an accessible, semi-journalistic style that captures the interest of both specialized and non-specialized readers. We recommend the use of figures to illustrate key concepts effectively and easily, and the use of text boxes for contextual and independent information. All texts should inform readers about the central topic (using peer-reviewed scientific literature), suggest possible actions, and make recommendations on how to proceed. Manuscripts in this section should have a title and a two-line subtitle or abstract. The maximum length should not exceed a regular research article. Manuscripts may be divided into thematic subheadings if necessary. Up to four display elements (figures, tables, text boxes) are allowed. The manuscript submission must include ethics and integrity statements (data availability), permission approval, funding declaration, conflict of interest, and permission to reproduce material from other sources, as is required for a regular submission. A maximum of 20 references is recommended. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed.

Points of View is a public forum for short comments or opinions on marine affairs and policies, fisheries management, and administration. Authors may share their personal opinions on these topics respectfully and based on facts, current issues, and legislations. The maximum length of this section is 1,000 words, excluding references. The article should include a title and a short abstract of no more than two lines. Comments should be written in a clear and understandable manner, avoiding the use of technical terms whenever possible. Although opinions are encouraged, they should be founded on sound reasoning developed from peer-reviewed literature. Article content should reflect in-depth knowledge or experience on the subject matter. Unfounded opinions or partisan political themes will not be accepted. Comments and opinions expressed in this section are the sole responsibility of the authors. This section is peer-reviewed at the editor´s discretion.

Audience

It is aimed at researchers, professionals and students from the different branches of marine and fisheries sciences, such as Marine Biologist, Fisheries Scientist, Ecologists, Oceanographers, Aquaculturists.

Abstracting & Indexing

SCOPUS; DOI Crossref; LATINDEX Cat. 2.0; DOAJ; AMelica.org; Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA); Agrindex; Zoological Records (BIOSIS Database); AquaDocs; CORE; BASE, MIAR.

Open Access

This journal offers authors a Diamond Open Access policy. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of Open Access.

Peer review

This journal operates using a "double blind" review process. All contributions are initially evaluated by the Editor to determine if they are suitable for the journal. Articles that are considered suitable are normally sent to two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the document. The Editor is responsible for the final decision on the acceptance or rejection of articles. The editor's decision is final. 

Licencing

Since 2019, distribution of contents of this journal are licenced by Creative Commons attributions (BY-NC-SA 4.0):

• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

• NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

• ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

Plagiarism

The software CrossCheck, powered by iThenticate, screens all manuscripts submitted to MAFIS for plagiarism and duplicate content. Manuscripts found to be plagiarized or duplicated will not be considered for publication. Submissions must consist of original content.

In accordance with COPE guidelines, we expect that "original wording taken directly from publications by other researchers should appear in quotation marks with appropriate citations".

Disclaimer

The National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) and Editors cannot be held responsible for errors and any consequences arising from the use of information contained in this journal; the views and opinions expressed do not neccesarily reflect those of the Publisher and Editors. Likewise, the reference made to trademarks is only circumstantial and does not imply, as far as INIDEP is concerned, any kind of recommendation or evaluation of the product in question or the manufacturing company.