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I would never have applied for the position of Editor-inChief in 1997 had I not been asked to do so by the then General Secretary of ICES. The job description read that applicants should have ‘‘a wide knowledge of marine science, good international contacts, and editorial experience, in addition to excellent English and a working knowledge of French’’. Although I am pedantic, knew quite a few fisheries scientists, had served two guest-editorships for symposia, and could buy a ‘‘baguette’’ in every French village, I would not have considered myself fully qualified on any of these points. However, being asked to follow in the footsteps of such giants of marine science as Ray Beverton and John Blaxter is of course good for one’s selfesteem. It took a dive when I found out that mine was the one and only application! I got into a bed already made. The Journal had expanded from three issues a year in 1991 to six issues in 1995, and the number of pages had nearly tripled over the same period. The incorporation of peer-reviewed proceedings of ICES Symposia in 1995 had both broadened the range of topics covered and increased the number of contributions by scientists outside the regular ICES community. I saw my main task as being to consolidate this trend from a typically fisheries-orientated journal servicing the North Atlantic and linked seas towards a journal with a worldwide readership addressing the understanding of marine systems, with emphasis on the impact of all human activities. In an effort to raise the Journal’s citation index, I also wanted to prioritize high-quality, preferably interdisciplinary, contributions rather than expand further. During my tenure, some 40% of manuscripts submitted didn’t make it to publication. Another major concern to me was the delay between submission and publication, a main stumbling block in attracting really good contributions. Before and during my incumbency of the post, we struggled with page limits and with interference between regular and symposium issues, sometimes causing backlogs. I believe that the latter have largely been straightened out and electronic file transfer has speeded up the entire process. Manuscripts travel back and forth over the world within days, where formerly extensive postal delays were the order of the day. Now, 50% of the published papers appear within twelve months of submission and, since 2002, a few have been published within six months, suggesting that improvements are still possible.

Editing the ICES Journal of Marine Science: a joy forever?