Publication Ethics

The Iranian Fisheries Scientific Journal (ISFJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial staff are expected to adhere to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Originality and Submission

Authors must ensure that their submitted manuscripts are original and have not been published previously or submitted simultaneously to another journal.

Proper Citation

Authors must appropriately acknowledge and cite all sources, ideas, data, text, figures, and other materials obtained from previous works.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, conduct, analysis, or interpretation of the research. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could influence or be perceived to influence the research or its interpretation.

Research Ethics

Research involving animals must comply with applicable national and international standards for the ethical care and use of animals in research. Where required, authors must provide information regarding approval by an appropriate ethics committee.

Research involving human participants, human data, or biological samples must comply with applicable ethical standards and must receive approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board where required.

Data Integrity

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the data presented in their manuscripts are accurate and reliable. Fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or inappropriate omission of research data is considered serious misconduct.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editorial Decision-Making

The Editor-in-Chief and editors are responsible for making fair and unbiased decisions regarding submitted manuscripts based on scientific quality, originality, relevance, clarity, and compliance with the journal's scope and policies.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than the authors, reviewers, editorial advisers, and publisher, as appropriate.

Fair Evaluation

Manuscripts must be evaluated objectively and without discrimination based on nationality, gender, ethnicity, institutional affiliation, religion, political views, or other personal characteristics.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must not participate in editorial decisions concerning manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. Such manuscripts should be handled independently by an appropriate editor.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat all manuscripts received for review as confidential documents and must not share or discuss their contents with others without authorization from the editor.

Objective and Constructive Review

Reviewers should provide objective, constructive, and scientifically justified comments intended to improve the quality of the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest that may affect their impartiality. Reviewers who cannot provide an unbiased assessment should decline the review invitation.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors when appropriate and should inform the editor of any substantial similarity between the manuscript under review and previously published work.

4. Plagiarism and Publication Misconduct

The Iranian Fisheries Scientific Journal considers plagiarism and all forms of publication misconduct unacceptable.

Publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• Plagiarism;

• Duplicate or redundant publication;

• Simultaneous submission to multiple journals;

• Fabrication or falsification of data;

• Manipulation of figures or research results;

• Citation manipulation;

• Unauthorized use of another person's ideas or unpublished work;

• Inappropriate authorship or undisclosed changes in authorship; and

• Undisclosed conflicts of interest.

All allegations of publication misconduct will be taken seriously and investigated by the Editorial Board in accordance with applicable ethical standards and COPE principles.

If misconduct is confirmed, the journal may reject the manuscript or, in the case of a published article, issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction as appropriate.

5. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Issues

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the published scientific record.

When a significant error is identified after publication, the journal may publish a correction or erratum. If an article contains serious errors or ethical problems that invalidate its findings or violate publication ethics, the article may be retracted.

An expression of concern may be published when serious concerns have been raised but an investigation has not yet been completed.

6. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision if they believe that the decision resulted from a significant misunderstanding, procedural error, or inappropriate application of the journal's policies.

Appeals must provide clear and substantive reasons and should be submitted to the Editorial Office. Appeals and complaints will be considered fairly and independently.

7. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Authors may use generative artificial intelligence tools for appropriate purposes, such as language improvement, grammar correction, or assistance during manuscript preparation, provided that such use does not compromise the originality, accuracy, or integrity of the research.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the content of a manuscript.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their manuscripts and should disclose the use of generative AI where required by the journal.

Editors and reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and should not upload confidential manuscript content into generative AI tools or other external systems.

8. Editorial Independence

Members of the Editorial Board and editorial staff may submit manuscripts to the journal. However, they must not participate in the review or editorial decision-making process concerning their own manuscripts or manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.

Such manuscripts must be handled independently to ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation.

9. Advertising Policy

The Iranian Fisheries Scientific Journal does not accept advertisements that could influence editorial decisions or the scientific content of the journal.

The journal maintains editorial independence and ensures that its editorial policies and publication decisions are not influenced by commercial interests.

10. Ethical Standards and COPE

The Iranian Fisheries Scientific Journal is committed to transparency, integrity, fairness, confidentiality, and accountability throughout the publication process.

The journal follows the ethical principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expects all authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff to comply with recognized standards of responsible research and publication.