Journal profile · Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Aquatic Science
Frontiers in Marine Science
ISSN 2296-7745 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Marine Science: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.36; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 14 weeks (community reports); 1,485 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Marine Science is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Marine and fisheries research, Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies and Marine and coastal ecosystems, together about 28.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Oceanography and Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Marine Science is an interdisciplinary journal that advances our understanding of marine species, ecosystems, and processes as well as human interactions with, and impacts on, ocean environments. The journal is led by Field Chief Editor Prof Carlos M. Duarte (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia) and indexed in Scopus, Web of Science and DOAJ. It welcomes submissions on all aspects of marine biology and ocean systems, on human activities that exploit or affect oceans and marine life, and the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: coral reef and deep-sea ecology global change and the future ocean marine affairs and policy marine biogeochemistry marine biology, biogeography, and biodiversity marine biotechnology and bioproducts marine conservation and sustainability marine fisheries, aquaculture, and living resources marine pollution physical oceanography ocean observation. Frontiers in Marine Science particularly welcomes new ideas and approaches for ocean-based solutions and which support and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 14: life below water. This includes studies on sustainable blue economies, improved forecasting and observational capacities, understanding biodiversity and ecosystem issues at a local and global level, and effective strategies to manage marine resources and maintain ocean health. Manuscripts that do not directly relate to marine environments, such as those focusing primarily on freshwater or terrestrial ecosystems and non-marine-related engineering and technology studies, are also out of scope. Additionally, research that predominately concerns human health, social sciences, or economics, without a clear link to marine science, will not be considered. Frontiers’ journals require that manuscripts primarily comprising computational studies of public data, must include appropriate validation. Please refer to the Frontiers Standards for research methodology policy, for more information. Manuscripts not adhering to these standards will not be considered. Frontiers in Marine Science is committed to advancing our understanding and sustainable use of the world’s oceans and their resources by communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Aquatic Science
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 4, Italy 3, Taiwan, China 2, Germany 2, Saudi Arabia 2 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Marine and fisheries researchEnvironmental Science9.9%
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems StudiesEnvironmental Science9.6%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences8.8%
- Marine Biology and Ecology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences7.3%
- Marine and coastal plant biologyEarth and Planetary Sciences6.3%
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture StudiesEnvironmental Science5.8%
- Oceanographic and Atmospheric ProcessesEarth and Planetary Sciences5.3%
- Marine animal studies overviewEnvironmental Science4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Marine & Freshwater Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Marine & Freshwater Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Marine & Freshwater Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Astrophysics Data System, CLOCKSS, Crossref
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.36LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.1LetPub ·
- h-index
- 167OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,451OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.85OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.94%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,391LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 16,242 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,162 | 1,162 | 388 |
| 2025 | 1,485 | 1,485 | 5,058 |
| 2024 | 1,690 | 1,690 | 11,244 |
| 2023 | 2,214 | 2,214 | 24,396 |
| 2022 | 2,883 | 2,883 | 43,162 |
| 2021 | 2,049 | 2,049 | 49,009 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 3,150 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 3,150 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,295 | Yes | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
CrossMark policy to locate current version of content. Model summary
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures, tables, and images published under CC-BY; permission required for copyrighted material from other sources. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY license (version 4.0) for articles from July 2012 onwards. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2296-7745
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Marine Science
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Marine Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Marine Science is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Marine & Freshwater Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Marine Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.36; CiteScore 6.5, h-index 167.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Marine Science?
Authors report an average review time of about 14 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Frontiers in Marine Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Frontiers in Marine Science based?
Of the 16 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (4), Italy (3) and Taiwan, China (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Marine Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Marine Science is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Marine Science open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Marine Science is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .