For all parties involved in publishing (the authors, the journal editors, the peer reviewers and the publisher), it is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behaviors. The ethics statements for Journal of Fisheries of China (JFC) are based on national regulations and the Best Practice Guideline for Journal Editors released by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Section 1 Author Responsibilities
Reporting Standards
Authors reporting results of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements is unethical and unacceptable.
On the premise of intellectual property protection, the journal encourages the practice of open science. Authors are encouraged to publish or share their research data whenever appropriate. The data for sharing may include original data, observation records, experimental results, etc. The journal also encourages the sharing of software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials. Authors can upload the materials above to an accessible third-party repository and make a proper citation or add a link at the end of the article.
Multiple Publication and Plagiarism
Authors should ensure that the articles are original, and that the work and/or words of others have been appropriately cited. The authentic meaning of cited data shall not be tempered or manipulated. An author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research as other published papers. Parallel submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal is unethical and unacceptable. Authors should also cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
All manuscripts would be tested by the plagiarism checking system developed by CNKI. The repetition rate should be less than 20%.
Intellectual Property and Confidentiality
When figures or tables are cited or adapted from published literature, the copyright holder shall be acknowledged and the license shall be obtained through formal channels. Information obtained through non-public means, such as communication, conversation, review, etc., shall be kept confidential unless authorized by the information providers.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be named in acknowledgement. The order of authors shall be collectively determined before submission and shall not be changed thereafter. “Gift author” is strictly prohibited. All authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
For details, please refer to Guideline for Authorship at the "Download ". For multi-author articles, contribution of authors should be described at the end of the main body text.
Competing Interests
All authors should disclose in their manuscript (at the end of the main body text) any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. If there is no conflict, it should also be stated that "there is no conflict of interest". For details, please refer to Guideline for Disclosure of Competing Interests at the "Download".
Human and Animal Rights
When research participants are humans or animals, authors should explain whether the procedure complied with the ethical standards formulated by the relevant committee (institutional, regional or national) responsible for human trials or animal rights. The approval document of the committee should be submitted. Consent letters from research participants or their relatives must be obtained but not submitted to the editorial office. The approval document should be submitted and the approval number shall be mentioned in manuscripts.
If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazard risk in their use (flammable, explosive, toxic materials or dangerous during operation), authors must clearly identify these dangers in the manuscript.
Misconduct and Appeal
All kinds of academic misconduct are prohibited, including claiming false funding projects, recommending reviewers who have conflict of interest, and interference with review process.
If authors do not agree with the decision on peer review or misconduct handling, they can appeal to the editorial office.
Correction in Published Works
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal’s editor or publisher and cooperate with them to either retract the paper or to publish an appropriate erratum.
Section 2 Reviewer Responsibilities
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
A peer reviewer assists editors in making editorial decisions and, through the editorial communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript. Any invited referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its timely review will be impossible should immediately notify the editor so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
Impartiality
Reviewers should give a fair evaluation on the significance of topic selection, theoretical level, writing quality, rationality of argumentation, etc. Reviewers should respect the independence of the author's ideas for scientific research and innovation, and avoid prejudice and racial discrimination.
Standards of Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable. Referees should express their views clearly with appropriate supporting arguments.
Confidentiality
Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except for authorized by editors. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
Conflict of Interest
Reviewers should not consider evaluating manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the submission.
Overall Review
The review is not only on the academic level but also on ethics and potential misconduct. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published data of which they have personal knowledge.
Section 3 Editor Responsibilities
Accountability
Editors of a peer-reviewed journal is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal should be published, and, moreover, are accountable for everything published in the journal. In making these decisions, editors may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board as well as by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. Editors may confer with other editors or reviewers when making publication decisions. Editors should maintain the integrity of the academic record, never submit to commercial needs by compromising intellectual and ethical standards, and always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
Fairness
Editors should evaluate manuscripts for intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality
Editors will not disclose any information about a manuscript under consideration to anyone other than authors, reviewers and potential reviewers, and in some instances editorial board members, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
Disclosure, Conflicts of Interest, and Other Issues
Editors will be guided by COPE’s guidelines for retracting articles when considering retracting, issuing expressions of concerns, and issuing corrections pertaining to articles that have been published in JFC.
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
Editors is committed to ensuring that advertising, reprinting or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions.
Editors should ensure a fair and appropriate peer review process. Editors should refrain (i.e. by asking a co-editor, associate editor or any other member of the editorial board to take over) from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers. The editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication. If needed, other appropriate actions should be taken, such as the publication of retraction or expression of concern.
Involvement and Cooperation in Investigations
Editors should guard the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and retractions when needed and looking into suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct. An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been raised concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper.
Section 4 Publisher Responsibilities
Editorial Autonomy
The publisher is committed to working with editors to define clearly the respective roles of publisher and of editors in order to ensure the autonomy of editorial decisions, without influence from advertisers or other commercial partners.
Intellectual Property and Copyright
The publisher protects the intellectual property and copyright, its imprints, authors and publishing partners by promoting and maintaining each article’s published version of record. The publisher ensures the integrity and transparency of each published article with respect to: conflicts of interest, publication and research funding, publication and research ethics, publication and research misconduct, confidentiality, authorship, article corrections, clarifications and retractions, and timely publication of content.
Publisher’s Confirmation
In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and to amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum or, in the most severe cases, the complete retraction of the affected work.
Section 5 Handling of Academic Misconduct
The journal editorial committee will discuss and determine whether there is an academic misconduct and what is the punishment. Should forgery of data, multiple submission or plagiarism be found, the manuscript will be rejected immediately. An announcement shall be published and the institutes of the authors shall be notified. All consequences shall be borne by authors. For other types of academic misconduct, once verified, the case will be handled according to national standards and international guidelines, depending on the specific circumstances.