New Marine Biology Open Access Journal

I just recently discovered a new open access journal dedicated to marine biology. Its creatively titled The Open Marine Biology Journal published by Bentham Open.

The Open Marine Biology Journal is an Open Access online journal, which publishes Research articles, Reviews and Letters in the field of marine biology, aiming at providing the most complete and reliable source of information on current developments in the field.

Each peer-reviewed article that is published in a Bentham OPEN Journal is universally and freely accessible via the Internet in an easily readable and printable PDF format.

I must say its about time! But will anyone publish here? Its not very visible right now and only 2 articles have been published:

Volume 1 Articles

	Partial Replacement of Fishmeal by Lyophylized Powder of the Microalgae Spirulina platensis in Pacific White Shrimp Diets
	pp.1-5 (5) Authors: R. Hanel, D. Broekman, S. de Graaf, D. Schnack

Volume 2 Articles

	Influence of Macroalgal Cover on Coral Colony Growth Rates on Fringing Reefs of Discovery Bay, Jamaica: A Letter Report
	pp.1-6 (6) Author: M. J.C. Crabbe

What it does have though are competitive publications fees (compared to PLoS, or journals with open-access options). Here is the fee schedule:

• PUBLICATION FEES: The publication fee details for each article published in the journal are given below:
• Letters: The publication fee for each published Letter article submitted is $600.
• Research Articles: The publication fee for each published Research article is $800.
• Mini-Review Articles: The publication fee for each published Mini-Review article is $600.
• Review Articles: The publication fee for each published Review article is $900.
• Once the paper is accepted for publication, the author will receive by email an electronic invoice.

Submissions from the Editorial Board Members of the journals will receive a special discount of 50% on the total publication fee. Submissions by authors from developing countries will receive a discount of 30% on the total publication fee charge.

I don't know if I'll ever give it a try, but I think it deserves some support for its efforts. I'll be keeping an eye on what is getting published there though. It'll be hard to compete with something like PLoS ONE. Even though PLoS ONE is more expensive (almost double!), it already has high visibility and quality publications by renowned experts in their fields. I do not mean it as an insult, but I didn't recognize most of the editorial board of The Open Marine Biology Journal, nor the authors of the 2 articles. Granted I am not so experienced in the many niches of marine biology, but I do know who the major players are. Regardless, good luck to them and I hope everyone will keep an eye out for the articles coming from this new open access journal.