We are pleased to announce a new chapter in our longstanding partnership with Ifremer (French National Research Institute for Ocean Science) and IRD (French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development). These two leading marine science organisations have committed to sponsoring Aquatic Living Resources (ALR) as a diamond open access journal with immediate effect. Diamond open access enables all papers to be freely available without any subscriptions or publication fees for authors thanks to the support of Ifremer and IRD. The ALR archives are also now freely available.

Ifremer and IRD have remained closely involved in ALR since its creation in 1988 and have been keen to support it whenever possible. At the end of last year, we reported ALR’s transition to open access, initially under a Gold open access model with article processing charges (APCs). Ifremer and IRD recognised an opportunity to take open access a step further by sponsoring the journal and enabling all aquatic science researchers to publish their work without any financial obligations. Diamond open access firmly aligns with their mission of open science and sustainable development.

The move to diamond open access reflects a growing interest in open access models that do not place a financial burden on authors or libraries. Science Europe, cOAlition S, OPERAS, and the French National Research Agency (ANR) earlier this year presented an Action Plan for Diamond Open Access “to further develop and expand a sustainable, community-driven Diamond OA scholarly communication ecosystem.” Diamond open access is also an integral part of the Deuxième Plan national pour la science ouverte (Second National Plan for Open Science) in France. It states a commitment to “Support open access economic publishing models that do not require the payment of articles or books processing charges (“diamond” model)”.

Ifremer is recognised throughout the world as one of the leading institutes in marine science and technology and is committed to both sustainable development and open science. IRD is a major player in sustainable development science, which supports an original model of equitable scientific partnership and interdisciplinary, citizen, sustainability science committed to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are proud to work closely with these two prestigious organisations and thank them for their invaluable support. Other institutions interested in sponsoring the journal are also welcome. A larger number of sponsors would be better able to guarantee a sustainable future for ALR under diamond open access while also increasing its publication capacity.

ALR publishes research dealing with all exploited (i.e. fished or farmed) living resources in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Priority is given to ecosystem-based approaches to the study of fishery and aquaculture social-ecological systems, including biological, ecological, economic and social dimensions. Research on the development of interdisciplinary methods and tools which can usefully support the design, implementation and evaluation of alternative management strategies for sustainable and high quality uses of aquatic living resources is particularly welcome by the journal. New challenges posed to the management of aquatic resources by multiple uses of marine areas and resources, as well as by global change, are also welcome research areas. The editorial team is led by Pierre Boudry, François Le Loc’h, Olivier Thébaud and Verena Trenkel and has overseen the growth of the journal since 2016, resulting in increased recognition of the journal reflected in its impact factors and CiteScores and continued development.

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