Journal Publication Policies

 

First: Editorial Policy

The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies adheres to a clear and rigorous editorial policy aimed at ensuring the quality of published content in accordance with recognized academic and ethical standards. The editorial policy includes the following:

  • Journal Mission: The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies is a peer-reviewed scientific journal dedicated to publishing original, innovative, and high-quality research that addresses contemporary scientific issues within its scope. The journal seeks to contribute to knowledge development and foster scientific communication among researchers at both local and international levels.
  • The journal is published biannually (in June and December) and accepts submissions throughout the year. Accepted articles are published in the next available issue via the journal’s official website.
  • The journal follows an open access policy for all its issues, enabling free and unrestricted access to published research, while respecting intellectual property rights under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  • The journal is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical conduct in handling submitted or published research.
  • All submissions are preliminarily reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief to ensure relevance to the journal’s scope.
  • Manuscripts that pass the initial screening undergo plagiarism detection using the Similarity Check tool via the iThenticate platform:
    • If the similarity index exceeds 20% (including references), the manuscript is rejected immediately, and the author is notified.
    • If the similarity is acceptable, the manuscript is forwarded to an associate editor for review of compliance with the journal’s formatting and scientific writing standards.
    • The journal adopts a double-blind peer review process and may refer the manuscript to a third reviewer in case of conflicting evaluations.
  • Authors receive an initial decision within 48 hours of submission.
  • The final decision on acceptance or rejection is communicated within two months from the date of submission.
  • Authors must submit the revised version of their manuscript within two weeks of receiving the final decision.
  • Upon acceptance, the manuscript is published in the next available issue of the journal.
  • The journal does not accommodate requests for expedited review, in order to ensure fairness and transparency for all submissions.
  • All accepted manuscripts undergo professional language editing by subject-matter experts to ensure linguistic quality and clarity before being published on the journal’s website.
  • The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies retains copyright ownership of all published works, as outlined in the copyright transfer agreement signed by the corresponding author.

Second: Peer Review Policy

  • The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies employs a double-blind peer review process for all submitted manuscripts. The identities of both reviewers and authors are kept strictly confidential. Manuscripts under review are not disclosed to anyone outside the editorial and review teams. Reviewers are required to maintain confidentiality regarding the content of the manuscripts they assess.
  • Editorial Decisions: Editorial decisions are based solely on the reviewers’ evaluations and fall into one of the following categories:
    • The manuscript is returned to the author for revision if reviewers request changes.
    • The manuscript is rejected if it fails to meet scientific standards or if both reviewers recommend rejection.
    • The manuscript is accepted for publication if it successfully passes all stages of the peer review process.

Third: Publication Ethics Policy

The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct in scientific publishing. The journal adheres to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The ethical responsibilities of each party involved in the publication process are outlined as follows:

1) Responsibilities of the Publisher

  • The publisher is committed to supporting the editorial board, authors, and reviewers to ensure high-quality scientific publishing.
  • The publisher ensures the smooth operation of the publication and peer-review processes in accordance with accepted ethical standards.
  • The publisher works to uphold academic integrity and contributes to the detection of unethical behavior (e.g., plagiarism or data fabrication).

2) Responsibilities of the Editor

  • Acknowledge receipt of submitted manuscripts within two working days.
  • Ensure a fair and confidential review process and refrain from sharing manuscript content with anyone other than the relevant parties (authors, reviewers, and publisher).
  • Recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which there is a conflict of interest.
  • Make final publication decisions based on originality and scientific merit.
  • Refrain from using unpublished research content for personal gain.
  • Address ethical complaints seriously and take appropriate actions, including issuing corrections or retractions when necessary.

3) Responsibilities of the Reviewer

  • Decline review assignments if unqualified or unable to meet the deadline.
  • Refrain from reviewing a manuscript in case of any conflict of interest.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality and avoid sharing the manuscript with third parties.
  • Provide objective and constructive feedback without personal criticism.
  • Do not use any data or ideas from the manuscript prior to its publication.
  • Report any suspected plagiarism or notable similarities with existing published works.

4) Responsibilities of the Author

  • Ensure accuracy and adherence to scientific methodology in preparing the manuscript.
  • Refrain from submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.
  • Submit clear, precise, and original data.
  • Accurately cite and reference all sources used.
  • Disclose any potential conflicts of interest or sources of funding.
  • List all contributors who meet authorship criteria and obtain their approval for submission.
  • Immediately inform the journal of any errors discovered in the published paper and cooperate in correcting or retracting it.

Fourth: Conflict of Interest Policy

  • The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies is committed to transparency at every stage of the scientific publishing process and considers the disclosure of conflicts of interest essential to maintaining academic integrity.
  • Definition of Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest refers to any financial, personal, or professional relationship that may influence—or appear to influence—the objectivity of the review, publication, or presentation of research findings.

1) Responsibilities of Authors

  • Authors must disclose any financial conflicts of interest (e.g., funding, salaries, contracts) or non-financial conflicts (e.g., personal or professional relationships, institutional affiliations).
  • Such disclosures must be included in the cover letter and in a dedicated section within the manuscript upon publication.
  • In the absence of any conflicts, authors must explicitly state: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

2) Responsibilities of Editors

  • Editors must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript in which a conflict of interest exists with the author(s) or the content of the research.
  • The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for appointing an alternate editor to ensure an unbiased review process.

3) Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Reviewers must decline to evaluate any manuscript if they have financial, personal, or academic relationships with the authors that may affect their judgment.
  • Reviewers are responsible for immediately notifying the Editor-in-Chief of any potential conflicts of interest.

Procedures

  • The journal reserves the right to reject or retract any manuscript if a conflict of interest is discovered post-publication that was not properly disclosed.

Fifth: Plagiarism and Publication Misconduct Policy

The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies is committed to ensuring the originality of published research and adherence to the highest ethical standards of academic publishing.

1) Scientific Plagiarism

  • Authors must submit original work. When incorporating ideas, data, or text from previously published sources, proper citation and acknowledgment are required.
  • All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using the Similarity Check (iThenticate) software. The maximum acceptable similarity index—including references—is 20%.
  • If the similarity exceeds this threshold or if clear evidence of plagiarism is detected, the manuscript is immediately rejected, and the author is notified.

2) Procedures Upon Discovery of Plagiarism

  • Before Publication: The manuscript will be rejected outright, and the author will be prohibited from submitting to the journal for a period determined by the editorial board, based on the severity of the misconduct.
  • After Publication: The article will be formally retracted from the journal’s website, and a retraction notice will be issued stating the reason. The following parties will also be notified:
    • The author’s affiliated institution.
    • Any funding agencies (if applicable).
    • The original copyright holders of the plagiarized content.

3) Retraction Policy

The journal reserves the right to retract any published article found to contain:

  • Data fabrication or manipulation.
  • Unauthorized duplicate (self) publication.

4) Appeals and Complaints

  • Authors or readers may submit complaints or appeals regarding editorial decisions or published content via the journal’s official email address.
  • Each submission is assigned a unique reference number and is reviewed by a neutral committee within the editorial board.

5) Disclaimer

The content and opinions expressed in the published articles are solely those of the authors. The journal, editorial board, and publisher bear no responsibility for their accuracy or for any outcomes arising from their use. The journal is also not liable for any direct, indirect, special, or incidental damages resulting from the use of its content.

Sixth: Open Access Policy

The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies is committed to an open access policy, ensuring that all published research is freely available to the public without restrictions. This approach promotes the dissemination and exchange of scientific knowledge.

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits:

  • Non-commercial use of the published content.
  • Redistribution, adaptation, and development based on the original work, provided that:
    • Proper credit is given to the original author and source.
    • The content is not used for commercial purposes.

Seventh: Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy

  • Creative Commons License: All articles published in the Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license permits others to:
    • Copy, distribute, display, and perform the work.
    • Adapt the work or create derivative works.
    • Provided that proper attribution is given to the original author and the work is not used for commercial purposes.
  • Intellectual Property Rights:
    Authors retain full intellectual property rights to their published work. They are recognized as the original creators and must be properly credited in any subsequent use.
  • Copyright:
    Authors retain the copyright of their work while granting the journal a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and display the work, both electronically and in print.

Eighth: Journal Fee Policy

The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies operates under a fully free publishing model, whereby:

  • The journal does not charge any fees for:
    • Manuscript submission.
    • Evaluation or processing.
    • Publication after final acceptance.
  • Additionally, the journal:
    • Does not accept commercial advertisements.
    • Does not generate any income from commercial activities.
  • The journal focuses on supporting open scientific publishing and promoting research in the fields of marine sciences and environmental technologies, without imposing any financial burdens on researchers.

Ninth: Author Self-Archiving Policy

The Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies is committed to an open access policy, ensuring that all articles are publicly available immediately upon publication, in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

1) Self-Archiving:

The journal encourages authors to share the final published version (version of record) rather than the accepted manuscript whenever possible. Authors are permitted to deposit:

  • The accepted version on their personal websites or institutional repositories.
    Citation details (title, author, and date) on any medium or platform such as blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, including a link to the original article on the journal’s website, preferably with the DOI.

2) Licensing and Use:

All articles are published under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, which permits:

  • Copying and sharing the work for any non-commercial purpose.
  • Modifying or building upon the work, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author.
  • Commercial use only with prior written permission from both the author and the journal.

3) Author Rights and Reuse:

Authors retain the following rights:

  • To archive copies of their work on personal or institutional websites.
  • To republish their work elsewhere with an acknowledgment that the first publication was in the journal.
  • To use their work for academic, research, or educational purposes with proper citation of the original publication.
  • To request special licenses for commercial use or official translations by contacting the journal and obtaining written approval.

4) Backup:

  • Content is securely managed and preserved electronically by the hosting provider.
  • The journal follows a comprehensive backup policy ensuring permanent access to published content.

Tenth: Data Sharing Policy

  • All issues of the Journal of Marine Sciences and Environmental Technologies are electronically archived to ensure content preservation and protection.
  • Data from scientific research published in the journal is periodically shared with recognized global indexing databases, such as:
    • Google Scholar
    • CrossRef
    • e-Marefa Knowledge Base
    • Scilit
    • Kisti
    • Semantic Scholar
    • R-Discovery
  • This policy aims to enhance the dissemination of scientific research, ensure easy accessibility, and increase the journal’s impact and credibility both locally and internationally.

Eleventh: Appeals and Complaints

  • Appeals: Authors who believe that a journal decision regarding their manuscripts was unfair have the right to submit a formal appeal. To initiate the appeal process, a formal letter must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief within 10 days of receiving the decision. The letter should clearly state the grounds for the appeal, providing justification as to why the decision is considered unfair.
  • Complaints: For concerns or objections related to the journal’s policies, procedures, or editorial team conduct, a written complaint should be addressed to the Managing Editor or Editor-in-Chief via email. Complaints must focus on relevant facts and be presented clearly, concisely, and objectively.