Submit
Submit a Manuscript
Choose one submission route and prepare the required files.
Manuscripts are submitted through ManuscriptZone. Read the Instructions for Authors before you begin: they set out structure, limits and the ethics, permit and data requirements that apply to marine research.
First
Before you start
Check that the work fits
The Aims and Scope page sets out the seven core disciplines, the terms on which interdisciplinary work is considered, and eight boundaries with their exceptions. If you are unsure, the editorial office will give an opinion on fit before you submit.
Choose the article type
Original research, review, short communication or technical note. Each has its own abstract, word, reference and figure limits, set out in the Instructions for Authors.
Confirm permissions are in place
Permits for protected species, marine protected areas or sensitive habitats; institutional animal-welfare approval where applicable; and permission for any third-party material you are reproducing.
Agree authorship
Every author must meet the ICMJE criteria and must have approved the submission. Changes to the author list after submission need written agreement from everyone.
Files
What to prepare
- Title page — title, all authors with affiliations and ORCID iDs, and the corresponding author's contact details.
- Manuscript — in an editable format, with continuous line numbering and pages numbered.
- Abstract and keywords — within the limit for your article type.
- Figures — as separate files at publication resolution, each with a caption.
- Tables — as editable text, not as images.
- Supplementary files — each with a short description of what it contains.
- Cover letter — what the work shows, why it suits this journal, and anything the editor should know.
For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.
Declarations
What you will declare
Each of these is a field in the submission. Preparing them beforehand makes the process short.
- Data availability
- Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement, naming the repository and accession where data are deposited, or stating why they cannot be released and how access may be requested.
- Ethics and permits
- The approving body and reference for animal-welfare approval, and the issuing authority and reference for any sampling, collection or access permit.
- Funding
- All funding and material support, with grant numbers where they exist.
- Competing interests
- Financial and non-financial interests that could be seen to influence the work, for every author. A statement is required even when there are none.
- Author contributions
- What each author did, in enough detail to show that each meets the authorship criteria.
- AI use
- Any use of generative AI in producing text, figures, code or analysis, naming the tool and what it was used for.
- Prior dissemination
- Any preprint or conference abstract of this work, with its DOI or reference. Neither prevents submission.
- Sensitive locations
- Raise at submission if precise coordinates would put a vulnerable population or site at risk, so that reduced precision can be agreed and recorded.
Routes
Submission routes
ManuscriptZone is the primary route. Authors may use one of the approved routes below.
Primary route — ManuscriptZone
oap.manuscriptzone.net. Tracks the manuscript through review and carries reviewer correspondence and revisions.
Alternative route — manuscript submission form
openaccesspub.org/manuscript-submission-form?journal=imsj, which opens with this journal already selected.
Assisted route — editorial office
Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.
Next
After submission
Editorial screening
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review. A manuscript declined at screening is returned quickly so that you can submit elsewhere without delay.
Peer review
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Decision
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal, and are communicated with the reviewer comments.
Revision
Where revision is invited, respond to each point raised and mark the changes. Revision is not a commitment by the journal to accept.
Acceptance and publication
Accepted manuscripts are copyedited and typeset, proofs are sent for approval, and the article is published open access under CC BY 4.0 with a registered Crossref DOI.
An article processing charge applies on acceptance and plays no part in the assessment of a manuscript. The terms, including the withdrawal policy, are on the Article Processing Charges page. Editorial rules are on the Editorial Policies page.