The Publication Game in the Aquatic Sciences– an Editor in Chief's Perspective

The editorial in the last issue was evocative and thought provoking (Steinberg, 2024). Consequently, it is appropriate to include an Editor in Chief’s perspective on the manuscripts that are received and considered for publication. It is realized that the publication process is stressful for the authors, but success is euphoric. Authors strive to publish in top class refereed international journals with success contributing to career security and advancement. The utopian desire of editors is to publish well-written manuscripts describing excellent work that will be well received by the readership and contribute to the all-important journal metrics. In short, we live in a period dominated by impact factors, and the number of citations, article downloads and reads. There may be contractual obligations with the publisher regarding the number of articles to be accepted and published within a defined period. In short, there is pressure on editors and authors. So, what is the reality of the situation. To dispel one myth, not all submissions lead to publications. It is not unusual that only a small minority of the submissions are actually published.