Prof. Dr. Beatriz Morales-Nin Appointed Editor-in-Chief of Oceans

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Beatriz Morales-Nin has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the journal Oceans (ISSN: 2673-1924).

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Morales-Nin holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Barcelona, Spain and has developed her career at the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona and at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (UIB/CSIC) in Mallorca, where she lives. She is currently a professor of Research Emeritus at the CSIC. She has spent long periods at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (USA), with an Andre Mayer FAO fellowship, and at the University of Bergen (Norway). Her work has focused on the study of sclerochronology–using the calcified tissues of fish to obtain their age and other vital information–with applications for sustainable fishery management. She has studied coastal fishing, with special reference to recreational fishing (where she has been a pioneer). Currently, she continues to collaborate on various topics at IMEDEA.

She has directed and participated in numerous research projects funded by the Spanish National Plan and the European Union. In terms of science management tasks, she was the first woman manager of the Marine Science and Technology Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology (2002-2008) and coordinated Strategic Action against accidental marine spills (Prestige) (2002-2005). She was director of IMEDEA from 2008 to 2016. She represented the CSIC in the European Marine Board and coordinated the Era-net Seas-Era (MICINN).

As a teacher, she has taught numerous master’s and Ph.D. classes and has directed 12 Doctoral Ph.D. theses, both at Barcelona University and at the Balearic Islands University. She has published more than 150 scientific articles and several book chapters. Prof. Dr. Morales-Nin is currently Editor-in-Chief of The Fisheries Research Journal and Editor of The Sea Research Journal; she is also Editor of The Blue Food Provision at Frontiers. Prof. Dr. Morales-Nin has received several awards for her scientific work and is one of the leading scientists in her field, with a high citation rate. She has received the Raimon LLull Award from the Balearic Islands Government (2024) to celebrate her reknowned career.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Beatriz Morales-Nin, who shared her vision for the journal with us, as well as her views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role of its Editor-in-Chief?
I have been working with a well-established journal, therefore to have the possibility to contribute to a relatively young journal is challenging. Also, I think that this journal has some interesting features, like its wide aims. Also, the policy of given credit and some rewards to reviewers, is a policy that could help to maintain the goal of rapid reviewing process.

2. What is your vision for the journal?
My vision is maintaining the open scope centred in the ocean, ranging from the physical aspects, environment, life characteristics and resources. This allows for an ample vision promoting a holistic view.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
In front of the many challenges in the Anthropocene, specially regarding the oceans, I see the necessity of basic scientific studies and the refining of methodologies, promoting first ranking science. A challenge will be the AI and its application’s and how to prevent unfair situations.

4. What do you think of the development of the open access format in the publishing field?
I support this policy that allows for rapid access to information. However, some support to situations when payment is not feasible, would be necessary.

We wish Prof. Dr. Beatriz Morales-Nin every success in their new position, and we look forward to her contributions to the journal.