Submissions

Author Guidelines

Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences publishes articles in the field of aquatic sciences including limnology, aquatic biology and fisheries. Acceptable topics include aquatic ecology, biology of aquatic organisms, fish population dynamics, aquatic resources management, fishing gear technology, post-harvest technology, socioeconomics, farming systems and captive breeding of aquatic organisms. Articles may be research papers, technical notes, short communications or review papers.

• Research papers must not exceed 20 manuscript pages including Tables and Figures.
• Short communications must not exceed 8 manuscript pages, must have an abstract, but may not contain the usual major headings of full papers. Generally, short communications are intended for fast publication of ongoing research for immediate attention to the readers with the understanding that it is foundation of a full-scale research article.
• Technical notes do not contain enough material for a full-scale research article, but scientifically important information for the readership. The maximum number of technical notes per journal issue is limited to a maximum of two.
• The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board will solicit invited reviews. Manuscripts must have an abstract and must not exceed 40 pages.

Only original, unpublished manuscripts not under consideration for publication elsewhere should be submitted. Articles must be technically sound and written in English. Spelling should conform to The Concise Oxford Dictionary. Authors must prepare manuscripts according to the journal’s standards and instructions in order to facilitate prompt review and processing of papers.

Preparation of Manuscripts

1. Organize the research paper logically and clearly as follows:
• Title page – contains specific title and author’s name and affiliation.
• Abstract – Provides summary of the study in not more than 300 words, on a page by itself.
• Introduction – includes the problem addressed, current level of knowledge, the aim of the study, and the hypothesis tested.
• Materials and Methods – must give all information to allow replication of the study.
• Results – must give concise summary of data.
• Discussion – explains the results and places the study in a larger context of aquatic sciences and literature, and gives the scientific contribution of the study.
• Acknowledgement – credits contributors of expertise and funds.
• References – must substantially include the peer-reviewed primary literature. Authors are encouraged to include digital object identifiers (doi) of the references cited, when they are available.
• Tables, Figure captions and Figures.
2. Type the manuscript on white bond paper (A4 or 21 cm x 29.7 cm) one side only with 2.5 cm margins all around. Double-space the manuscript throughout, including references, Tables and Figure legends. Use font size of 11 or 12 points.
3. Leave a triple space before and after the headings. Use capital and lower letters, never all capitals. Avoid footnotes, addenda or appendices as much as possible.
4. Give the Latin name of the species at first mention in the manuscript. Subsequent references may use the common name. Italicize Latin names.
5. Place a zero before the decimal in numbers less than 1. Give dates in the form of 10 January 1998. Spell out numbers less than 10 unless they stand beside standard units of measure. Do not spell out numbers larger than 10 unless they are used at the start of a sentence.
6. Use metric units or the International System of Units (e.g., metre, gram, second, litre, mole, joule, etc.). Common units such as day, hectare, watts, horsepower, ºC and ppt are acceptable. Use abbreviations of units only beside numerals e.g., 5 m; otherwise spell out units. Use superscripts and subscripts instead of the bar (/) for compound units (for example 10 g m^-2 instead of g/m²).
7. In designing Tables and Figures, consider the journal’s printed page size (12 cm x 20 cm) and any reduction needed. Large tables should be avoided. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables. Each table should be typewritten on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables and figures should never be included in the text. They should be on separate pages after the references section of the main text. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead. Number Tables and Figures consecutively, one per page. Figures must be neat line drawings in black Indian ink. Use a laser printer for computer-generated graphics. Good quality, glossy black and white photographs may also be submitted. Lettering on Figures must be of a size readable after reduction (up to 60%). Figure captions must be submitted on a separate page.
8. Cite references in the text as Authors (year). Cite three or more authors as First Author et al. (year) and references still in press as Author (in press). If a reference is unpublished, state Author (unpublished) or Author (pers. comm.), but try to avoid such citations. Arrange references in series by year.
9. In the references, arrange papers alphabetically by (first) author’s family name as follows:
   
   (Book)
   Gulland, J.A. 1983. Fish Stock Assessment: A Manual of Basic Methods. Wiley-Interscience, Chichester, 223 p.
   
   (Proceedings)
   Moreau, J., W. Ligtvoet & M.L.D. Palomeres 1993. Trophic relationship in the fish community of Lake Victoria, Kenya, with special emphasis on the impact of Nile perch (Lates niloticus). In: Trophic Models of Aquatic Ecosystems (V. Christensen & D. Pauly eds), pp. 141-152, ICLARM Confernce Proceedings 26, 390 p. ICLARM, Manila.
   
   (Book chapter)
   Macintosh, D.J. 1982. Fisheries and aquaculture of mangrove swamps, with special reference to the Indo-Pacific region. In: Recent Advances in Aquaculture (J.F. Muir & R.J. Roberts eds), pp. 3-85. Croom Helm, London.
   
   (Journal article)*
   Jennings, S. & N.V.C. Polunin 1996. Effect of fishing effort and catch rate upon the structure and biomass of Fijian reef fish communities. Journal of Applied Ecology 33: 400-412.
   *Journal title should be given in full.
   
   
10. Number all pages consecutively, including Tables and Figures. Ensure that all copies of the manuscript are legible and clean.

Submission

All submissions are online / electronic and the file format must be Microsoft Word.

E mail manuscripts to shamenpv@gmail.com
Editor-in-Chief,

Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences,
Department of Zoology and Environmental Management,
University of Kelaniya,  
Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Check Grammar and vocabulary. All manuscripts will be desk reviewed by the SLJAS’s Editorial Board. Those manuscripts not within the Journal’s preview and not up to the standards of the Journal will be desk rejected and authors will be notified. Manuscripts that pass the desk review will be peer-reviewed by at least two independent reviewers engaged in a double-blind review process.

Review Process

The review will be double-blind in nature; reviewer comments on the manuscripts will be shared with authors to address them fully / to the extent possible. Revised manuscripts, after addressing review comments, need to be submitted with a response matrix for each reviewer indicating how the comments are being addressed or not addressed and indicating the reasons for those not addressed.

Depending on the degree to which the review comments are addressed, there can be several rounds of reviews before a final decision on the acceptance / rejection of the manuscript is taken and notified.

Proofs

Page proofs will be sent to the first author unless otherwise stated on the title page of the manuscript. Proofs must be corrected within four days. Alterations in proofs other than corrections of page layout errors may be charged to authors.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors must check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors who do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
2. The submission file is in Microsoft Word document file format.
3. Where available, DOIs for the references have been provided.
4. The text is double-spaced; use Times New Roman 12-point font size; employs italics rather than underlining (except with URL addresses and DOI); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed at the end and approximate positions of figures and tables are indicated within the text at the appropriate points.
5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which are found in About the Journal.
6. The corresponding author's email address and Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) should be provided with the manuscript.

Copyright Notice

© Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

The copyright covers the exclusive right to distribute the article, including reprints, portable document format (pdf) files or any other reproduction of similar nature. No part of the article may be reproduced without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

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Publication Fees

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