These regulations govern the establishment and operation of the Research Ethics Committee of the Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (hereinafter "the Journal"), which oversees compliance with research ethics by authors and related parties submitting manuscripts to the Journal.

The Research Ethics Committee (REC) is responsible for receiving, evaluating, and adjudicating matters concerning compliance with research ethics in manuscripts submitted to or published by the Journal.

1) The REC shall consist of approximately seven members, including one Chair and one Vice Chair.
2) Committee members shall be appointed by the President of the Korean society of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (KOSFAS) upon recommendation by at least one-third of the Board of Directors or by ten or more regular members.
3) The term of the Chair and committee members shall be two years, and reappointment is permitted.
4) The REC shall convene at the request of the Chair upon receiving reports from reviewers, editors, readers, or other relevant parties. A quorum shall consist of two-thirds of the members, and resolutions shall be adopted by at least two-thirds of those present.
5) Members with conflicts of interest concerning the case under review shall be excluded from the deliberation and decision-making process. The Chair shall determine the existence of any conflicts of interest after consulting the Committee.

1) The REC has the authority to conduct a thorough investigation of reported ethical violations by obtaining information from informants, respondents, witnesses, references, and relevant evidence.
2) If a violation is confirmed, the Chair of the REC shall determine appropriate sanctions.

1) Authors, reviewers, editors, and readers who identify potential ethical violations should request corrective action from the involved parties and seek to resolve the matter.
2) If the problem is not resolved or a clear violation is identified, the matter may be reported to the REC.
3) The REC shall not disclose the identity of the informant externally.

1) The REC shall deliberate and issue a decision within 60 days from the date of receipt of the report. The Chair may extend the review period if unavoidable circumstances arise.
2) When deemed necessary, the Chair may appoint external experts to provide consultation or conduct a review.
3) Individuals subject to investigation shall cooperate fully with the REC. Refusal to cooperate shall itself constitute an ethical violation and may serve as grounds for determining misconduct.

1) Individuals accused of violating research ethics shall be given sufficient opportunity to present explanations.
2) The identity of the accused shall not be disclosed until a final disciplinary decision is made.

1) In cases where plagiarism is confirmed, the severity of sanctions shall be determined from among one or more of the following measures (Items 2–9).
2) Deletion of the published article.
3) Prohibition from manuscript submission for a minimum of three years.
4) Notification of the plagiarism to the affiliated institution of the involved author(s).
5) Public disclosure and permanent record of the article’s retraction and the reason for retraction.
6) Announcement of the violation on the Society’s website and in the Journal.
7) Notification of the incident and its details to relevant national research foundations or administrative bodies.
8) In cases involving research funded by external agencies, notification of the details to the funding institution.
9) If a reviewer commits unethical conduct, the individual may be excluded from future reviewer appointments.

Individuals designated as authors must meet all of the following criteria:
1) Made a substantial contribution to the conception and design of the study, or to data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation.
2) Drafted the manuscript or revised it critically for important intellectual content.
3) Approved the final version prior to publication.
4) Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring accuracy and integrity.

If the study involves experimental animals, authors must state that all procedures adhered to the ethical guidelines of their institutional Animal Ethics Committee.
1) Studies involving human sensory evaluation or animal experiments (including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds) must obtain approval from an accredited institutional committee on bioethics or animal experimentation.

Authors must not improperly use the ideas, terminology, data, or intellectual property of others without clear attribution. Even when cited, extensive verbatim copying or replication of ideas without originality constitutes misconduct.
Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate authorship, and duplicate publication.
1) Fabrication: Making up data or results that do not exist.
2) Falsification: Manipulating research materials, processes, or data to distort research results.
3) Plagiarism: Using another’s protected work, ideas, hypotheses, or results without proper approval or citation, and presenting them as one’s own.
4) Inappropriate authorship: Excluding individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions or including individuals who did not make such contributions.
5) Duplicate publication: Republishing substantially identical work in another journal without informing the editorial board or readers of its prior publication.

1) Other matters related to research ethics violations shall follow the Research Ethics Regulations of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
2) Matters not specified in these regulations shall conform to relevant laws and customary academic practices.
3) If research misconduct is confirmed, all costs incurred during manuscript submission and review will not be refunded.

These regulations shall take effect on September 1, 2025.