INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Scope and General Information

Thank you for your interest in submitting your work to Fisheries & Aquatic Life (formerly Archives of Polish Fisheries). Fisheries & Aquatic Life is an international, peer-reviewed scientific journal published quarterly and continuously since 1992. The journal operates under an open access model, and all published articles are freely available in PDF format via the journal’s website.

The journal publishes original research articles, review articles, short communications, book reviews, and monographs addressing all aspects of fish biology, aquatic ecosystems, fisheries science, and aquaculture. Proceedings from scientific conferences and symposia may also be considered for publication, provided they meet the journal’s scope and quality standards.

 

Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically via the Editorial Manager submission system at:

https://www.editorialmanager.com/apf/

 

Authors will be required to register and create a user account upon first access.

Submission of a manuscript implies that:

  • the work is original and has not been published previously, except in the form of an abstract, academic thesis, or conference presentation;
  • the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere;
  • all authors have approved the submission and agree with its content;
  • the manuscript will not be published elsewhere in the same form without written permission from the copyright holder.

All submissions must be accompanied by a completed and signed Copyright Transfer Statement, submitted on behalf of all authors by the corresponding author. Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal’s requirements or fall outside its scope may be rejected without external peer review.

Authors are required to suggest three independent expert reviewers from the international scientific community. Suggested reviewers must have appropriate expertise and must not have conflicts of interest with the authors or their institutions.

 

Categories of Manuscripts and Length Limits

The journal accepts the following categories of contributions. The maximum length, including references, tables, and figures, is defined in standard manuscript pages:

  • Review Articles: up to 30 pages
  • Research Articles: up to 20 pages
  • Short Communications: up to 6 pages
  • Book Reviews: up to 2 pages
  • Monographs: up to 100 pages

Publication Ethics and Integrity

Fisheries & Aquatic Life adheres to the ethical standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher are expected to comply with the highest standards of scientific integrity.

The journal employs plagiarism detection software (Crossref Similarity Check). Submission of a manuscript constitutes consent to plagiarism screening.

Unethical practices, including plagiarism, ghostwriting, guest authorship, data fabrication, or falsification, will result in appropriate editorial action, including rejection or retraction, and notification of relevant institutions.

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study.

 

Peer Review Process

All manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine their suitability for the journal. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s criteria are assigned to an Associate Editor and evaluated through a double-blind peer review process involving at least two independent reviewers.

Based on reviewers’ recommendations, the Editor-in-Chief will make a final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection.

Manuscripts returned for revision must be resubmitted within one month. Failure to resubmit within this period will be considered a withdrawal.

 

Preparation of Manuscripts

Manuscripts must be prepared in clear, grammatically correct English and submitted in Microsoft Word format (.docx).

Formatting requirements:

  • Font: Times New Roman, 12-point
  • Line spacing: double-spaced
  • Margins: 30 mm on all sides
  • Continuous line numbering recommended
  • Pages numbered consecutively

The manuscript must be organized as follows:

  • Title Page
  • Main Document
  • Tables
  • Figure Captions
  • Figures (submitted separately)

 

 

Title Page

The title page must be submitted as a separate file and must include:

  • Full title of the manuscript (concise and informative)
  • Full names of all authors
  • Institutional affiliations of all authors
  • ORCID iD for each author (strongly recommended; required where available)
  • Corresponding author designation
  • Full correspondence details, including email address
  • Authors’ Contributions statement clearly specifying the contribution of each author to the study (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, supervision, funding acquisition).

The Authors’ Contributions statement must clearly specify the contribution of each author to the study, using author initials, and must accurately reflect each author’s role in the conception, design, execution, analysis, and preparation of the manuscript.

Where appropriate, two or more authors may be designated as co-first authors. This must be explicitly stated in the Authors’ Contributions statement, indicating that these authors contributed equally to the work.

To ensure compliance with the double-blind peer review process, the main manuscript file must begin with the manuscript title only and must not contain any information that could reveal the identity of the authors, including names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, acknowledgments, or funding information.

 

Abstract and Keywords

The abstract must be provided immediately following the title and must not exceed 200 words.

The abstract should clearly state:

  • the objectives of the study,
  • the methods used,
  • the principal results, and
  • the main conclusions.

Below the abstract, authors must provide up to six keywords, listed alphabetically and separated by commas.

 

Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts should be organized using the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Study Area (if applicable)
  • Materials and Methods
  • Statistical Analysis (if applicable)
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References

 

Scientific Nomenclature

Scientific names must be provided in full, including the taxonomic authority, at first mention. Scientific names at the species and subspecies level must be italicized. Common names must be accompanied by scientific names upon first occurrence.

 

Materials and Methods

This section must provide sufficient detail to allow independent replication of the study. SI units must be used throughout. Abbreviations must be defined upon first use. Statistical methods must be described clearly, including the statistical tests used, sample sizes, and exact P values.

 

Results

Results should be presented clearly and concisely. Tables and figures should be used where appropriate to enhance clarity and avoid redundancy.

 

Discussion

The discussion should interpret the results in the context of existing literature, explain their significance, and identify future research directions.

Authors should avoid repeating results or providing an extensive literature review unrelated to the study.

 

Acknowledgments

This section should recognize individuals and institutions that contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria.

Funding sources must be fully disclosed.

 

References

All references cited in the text must be included in the reference list. The journal follows APA referencing style, with minor modifications. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all references. References published in Cyrillic alphabets must be transliterated into the Latin alphabet. Examples of Fisheries & Aquatic Life reference content requirements are shown below.

Journal article:

Brownscombe, J. W., Danylchuk, A. J., Chapman, J. M., Gutowsky, L. F., Cooke, S. J. (2017). Best practices for catch-and-release recreational fisheries–angling tools and tactics. Fisheries Research, 186, 693-705.

Online Article Not Yet Published in an Issue:

Haubrock, P. J., Bernery, C., Cuthbert, R. N., Liu, C., Kourantidou, M., Leroy, B., ... Gozlan, R. E. (2021). What is the recorded economic cost of alien invasive fishes worldwide? Research Square, http://doi.org/10.212-03/rs.3.rs-381243/v1.

Conference proceedings:

Rybicki, J. (1988). Microbiological decomposition of phosphoric compounds in surface waters. In: Proc. XV Conf. Inter. Microbiol. Assoc., The Hague 5-10.09.1987, Academic Press, New York: 258-265.

Book:

Kottelat, M., Freyhof, J. (2007). Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. Kottelat, Cornol, Switzerland and Freyhof, Berlin, Germany.

Book chapter:

Zawisza, J., Backiel, T. (1970). Gonad development, fecundity and egg survival in Coregonus albula L. In: Biology of coregonid fishes (Ed.) C.C. Lindey, C.S. Woods, Univ. Manitoba Press, Winnipeg: 363-397.

 

Tables

All tables must be cited in the text and included at the end of the manuscript or submitted as separate editable files. Tables must be prepared in Microsoft Word format (.docx).

Each table must appear on a separate page and be numbered consecutively in the order of its first citation in the text. Tables must include a concise and informative title.

Table captions must be provided either in a separate “Table Captions” section at the end of the manuscript file or in a separate file. Tables must be formatted clearly and consistently and must not duplicate information presented elsewhere in the manuscript, particularly in figures.

 

Figures

All figures must be cited in the text and numbered consecutively in the order of their first citation. Figures must be submitted as separate files and clearly labeled with the corresponding figure number. Multi-panel figures must be identified using lowercase letters (e.g., Fig. 1a, Fig. 1b).

Acceptable file formats include JPEG (.jpg), TIFF (.tif), CorelDRAW (.cdr), Excel (.xlsx), and Statistica (.stw). Photographic images must be submitted in TIFF or JPEG format.

All figures must have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi at the final publication size to ensure high-quality reproduction in both print and online formats.

Figure captions must be provided either in a separate “Figure Captions” section at the end of the manuscript file or in a separate file. Captions must be sufficiently detailed to allow the figure to be understood independently of the main text.Proofs and Publication

Page proofs will be sent electronically to the corresponding author. Corrections must be returned within three days. Only typographical and production errors may be corrected at this stage.

 

Publication Fees

There are no submission or publication charges.

 

Retraction Policy

Articles may be retracted in cases of serious scientific or ethical violations. A Retraction Notice explaining the reason will be published and linked to the original article.

 

Author Identification

Authors are strongly encouraged to register for an ORCID iD and include it in their submission. ORCID ensures accurate attribution of scholarly work and enhances author identification across databases and indexing systems.