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Fishery Bulletin 111(4) 
Fishery Bulletin 
Guidelines for authors 
Manuscript preparation 
Contributions published in Fishery Bulletin describe 
original research in marine fishery science, fishery en- 
gineering and economics, as well as the areas of ma- 
rine 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 occa- 
sionally 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 in- 
cluded]) to extensive contributions (20-30 typed pages). 
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. 
Title page should include authors’ full names and 
mailing addresses and the senior author’s telephone, 
fax number, and e-mail address. Abstract should be 
limited to 250 words (one-half typed page), state the 
main scope of the research, and emphasize the authors 
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 agen- 
cies, it is important that they represent the research 
clearly and concisely. 
General text must be typed in 12-point Times New 
Roman font throughout. A brief introduction should 
convey the broad significance of the paper; the remain- 
der of the paper should be divided into the following 
sections: Materials and methods, Results, Discus- 
sion, Conclusions, and Acknowledgments. Headings 
within each section must be short, reflect a logical se- 
quence, and follow the rules of subdivision (i.e., there 
can be no subdivision without at least two subhead- 
ings). The entire text should be intelligible to interdisci- 
plinary readers; therefore, all acronyms, abbreviations, 
and technical terms should be written out in full the 
first time they are mentioned. 
For general style, follow the U.S. Government Print- 
ing Office Style Manual (2008) [available at http://www. 
gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/index.html] and Scientific 
Style and Format: the CSE Manual for Authors, Edi- 
tors, and Publishers (2006, 7 th ed.) published by the 
Council of Science Editors. For scientific nomenclature, 
use the current edition of the American Fisheries So- 
ciety’s Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from 
the United States, Canada, and Mexico and its compan- 
ion volumes (Decapod Crustaceans, Mollusks, Cnidaria 
and Ctenophora, and World Fishes Important to North 
Americans). For species not found in the above men- 
tioned AFS publications and for more recent changes in 
nomenclature, use the Integrated Taxonomic Informa- 
tion System (ITIS) (available at http://itis.gov/), or, sec- 
ondarily, the California Academy of Sciences Catalog of 
Fishes (available at http://researcharchive.calacademy. 
org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp) for 
species names not included in ITIS. Citations must be 
given of taxonomic references used for the identification 
of specimens. For example, “Fishes were identified by 
using Collette and Klein-MacPhee (2002); sponges were 
identified by using Stone et al. (2011).” 
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 measure- 
ment are used, please make this fact explicit to the 
reader. Use numerals, not words, to express whole and 
decimal numbers in the general text, tables, and fig- 
ure captions (except at the beginning of a sentence). 
For example: We considered 3 hypotheses. We collected 
7 samples in this location. Use American spelling. Re- 
frain from using the shorthand slash (/), an ambiguous 
symbol, in the general text. 
Word usage and grammar that may be useful are 
the following: 
Aging For our journal the word aging is used to mean 
both age determination and the aging process (se- 
nescence). The author should make clear which 
meaning is intended where ambiguity may arise. 
Fish and fishes For papers on taxonomy and biodiver- 
sity, the plural of fish is fishes, by convention. In all 
other instances, the plural is fish. 
Examples: The fishes of Puget Sound [biodiversity 
is indicated]; 
The number of fish caught that season 
[no emphasis on biodiversity]; 
The fish were caught in trawl nets [no 
emphasis on biodiversity]. 
The same logic applies to the use of the words 
crab and crabs, squid and squids, etc. 
Sex For the meaning of male and female, use the 
word sex, not gender. 
Participles As adjectives, participles must modify a 
specific noun or pronoun and make sense with that 
noun or pronoun. 
Incorrect: Using the recruitment model, estimates 
of age-1 recruitment were determined. 
[Estimates did not use the recruitment 
model.] 
Correct: Using the recruitment model, we deter- 
mined age-1 estimates of recruitment. 
[The participle now modifies the word we, 
those who were using the model.] 
