Fishery Bulletin: Guidelines for Authors

U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA
NMFS Scientific Publications Office

Fishery Bulletin Guidelines for Authors

Content of manuscripts

Contributions published in Fishery Bulletin describe original research in marine fishery science, fishery engineering and economics, as well as the areas of marine environmental and ecological sciences (including modeling). Preference will be given to manuscripts that examine processes and underlying patterns. Descriptive reports, surveys, and observational papers may occasionally be published but should appeal to an audience outside the locale in which the study was conducted. Although all contributions are subject to peer review, responsibility for the contents of papers rests upon the authors and not on the editor or publisher. Submission of an article implies that the article is original and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Articles may range from relatively short contributions (10–15 typed, double-spaced pages, tables and figures not included) to extensive contributions (20–30 typed pages). Notes are reports of 5 to 10 pages without an abstract and describe methods or results not supported by a large body of data. Manuscripts must be written in English; authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscripts checked by English-speaking colleagues before submission.

Manuscript Preparation

Title page should include authors’ full names and mailing addresses and the senior author’s telephone, fax number, and e-mail address, and a list of key words to describe the contents of the manuscript. Abstract should be limited to 200 words (one-half typed page), state the main scope of the research, and emphasize the author’s conclusions and relevant findings. Do not review the methods of the study or list the contents of the paper. Because abstracts are circulated by abstracting agencies, it is important that they represent the research clearly and concisely. Text must be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font throughout. A brief introduction should convey the broad significance of the paper; the remainder of the paper should be divided into the following sections: Materials and methods, Results, Discussion (or Conclusions), and Acknowledgments. Headings within each section must be short, reflect a logical sequence, and follow the rules of multiple subdivision (i.e., there can be no subdivision without at least two items). The entire text should be intelligible to interdisciplinary readers; therefore, all acronyms, abbreviations, and technical terms should be written out in full the first time they are mentioned. Include FAO common names for species in the list of keywords and in the introduction. Regional common names may be used throughout the rest of the text if they are different from FAO common names which can be found at http://www.fishbase.org/search.html. Follow the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual (1984 ed.) and the CBE Style Manual (6th ed.) for editorial style; for fish nomenclature follow the most current issue of the American Fisheries Society’s Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada. Dates should be written as follows: 11 November 2000. Measurements should be expressed in metric units, e.g., 58 metric tons (t); if other units of measurement are used, please make this fact explicit to the reader. Write out the numbers zero through nine unless they form part of measurement units (e.g., nine fish but 9 mm). Refrain from using the shorthand slash (/), an ambiguous symbol, in the general text.

Literature cited comprises published works and those accepted for publication in peer-reviewed literature (in press). Follow the name and year system for citation format in the “Literature cited” section (that is say, citations should be listed alphabetically by the authors’ last names, and then by year if there is more than one citation with the same authorship). If there is a sequence of citations in the text, list chronologically: (Smith, 1932; Green, 1947; Smith and Jones, 1985). Abbreviations of serials should conform to abbreviations given in the Serial Sources for the BIOSIS Previews Database. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all citations. Literature citation format: Author (last name, followed by first-name initials). Year. Title of report or manuscript. Abbreviated title of the series to which it belongs. Always include number of pages. Cite all software and special equipment or chemical solutions used in the study, not in a footnote but within parentheses in the text (e.g., SAS, vers. 6.03, SAS Inst., Inc., Cary, NC).

Tables and figures—general format
• Zeros should precede all decimal points for values less than one.
• Sample size, n, should be italicized.
• Capitalize the first letter of the first word in all labels within figures.
• Do not use overly large font sizes in maps and for units of measurements along axes in figures.
• Do not use bold fonts or bold lines in figures.
• Do not place outline rules around graphs.
• Do not use horizontal lines in graphs to indicate measurement units.
• Use a comma in numbers of five digits or more (e.g. 13,000 but 3000).
• Maps should have a North arrow and degrees latitude-longitude (e.g., 170°E)

Tables are often overused in scientific papers; it is seldom necessary or even desirable to present all the data associated with a study. Tables should not be excessive in size and must be cited in numerical order in the text. Headings should be short but ample enough to allow the table to be intelligible on its own. All unusual symbols must be explained in the table legend. Other incidental comments may be footnoted with italic numeral footnote markers. Use asterisks to indicate probability in statistical data. Do not type table legends on a separate page; place them above the table data. Do not submit tables in photo mode.

Figures include line illustrations, photographs (or slides), and computer-generated graphs and must be cited in numerical order in the text. Graphics should aid in the comprehension of the text, but they should be limited to presenting patterns rather than raw data. Figures should not exceed one figure for every four pages of text. Figures must be labeled with author’s name and number of figure. Avoid placing labels vertically (except on y-axis). Figure legends should explain all symbols and abbreviations and should be double-spaced on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. Please note that we do not print graphs in color.

Failure to follow these guidelines and failure to correspond with editors in a timely manner will delay publication of a manuscript.

Copyright law does not apply to Fishery Bulletin, which falls within the public domain. However, if an author reproduces any part of an article from Fishery Bulletin in his or her work, reference to source is considered correct form (e.g., Source: Fish. Bull 97:105).

Submission

The Scientific Editorial Office encourages authors to submit their manuscripts as a single PDF (preferred) or Word (zipped) document by e-mail to Fishery.Bulletin@noaa.gov. Please use the subject heading, "Fishery Bulletin manuscript submission". Do not send encrypted files. For further details on electronic submission, please contact the Scientific Editorial Office directly (see address below). Or you may send your manuscript on compact disc in one of the above formats along with four printed copies (one original plus three copies [stapled]) to the Scientific Editor, at the address shown below.

Dr. Adam Moles
Scientific Editor, Fishery Bulletin
NOAA/NMFS/AFSC
17109 Point Lena Loop Road
Juneau, AK 99801-8626

Once the manuscript has been accepted for publication, you will be asked to submit a final electronic copy of your manuscript. When requested, the text and tables should be submitted in Word or Word Rich Text Format. Figures should be sent as PDF files, Windows metafiles, tiff files, or as EPS files. Send a copy of figures in original software if conversion to any of these formats yields a degraded version.

Questions? If you have questions on these guidelines, please contact the Managing Editor, Sharyn Matriotti, at:
Sharyn.Matriotti@noaa.gov

Questions regarding manuscripts in review should be addressed to Adam Moles, Scientific Editor, at Adam.Moles@noaa.gov