WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2013 3 Editor’s Note I regret to report two recent instances of plagiarism involving the magazine. In one case, the plagiarism was detected prior to publication but in the other case, the plagiarism was regrettably detected only after publication. The first case was extremely egregious and fit the classic definition of plagiarism as passing off the words of another as one’s own. The submitting authors simply replaced the names of the original authors with their own while making no changes whatsoever to the original paper. In the second case, the authors copied substantial sections from a peer-reviewed paper published in Aquaculture without any attribution or acknowledgement of the original source. I particularly regret not catching plagiarism in the article that was published because I am well-versed in the subject matter (biofloc technology) and consider myself familiar with the pertinent literature. In both cases the authors were contacted and attempts were made to reach officials of the institutional affiliations provided by the authors. Responses so far, indicating a course of disciplinary action, have been less than satisfactory. I have also taken steps to warn other magazine editors about the offending authors. The authors of the two articles have been prohibited from submitting future manuscripts for publication in World Aquaculture magazine. After lengthy consideration and with great reservation, I have decided not to formally retract the article published in the magazine. In the case of peer-reviewed literature, this is an obvious course of action. Given that the magazine is not peer reviewed and considered gray literature, the article will stand. I am concerned that potential contributing authors perceive that World Aquaculture is “only” a magazine (not a peer-reviewed journal) and thus relax their standards of integrity. It is not clear how widespread plagiarism is with articles submitted to the magazine but I would like to believe that they are isolated incidents. Nonetheless, it is clear that the magazine staff is obliged to increase scrutiny of manuscripts and maintain a vigilant posture, without turning into the “plagiarism police.” I have taken these instances of plagiarism personally and feel anger and antipathy toward the authors for “testing” me. I also consider this to be a disgraceful attack on our institution – the World Aquaculture Society. I find it perplexing that young scientists in this day and age consider such behavior acceptable or that the reward for plagiarizing is worth the risk of getting caught. I understand and empathize with the pressures placed on scientists to advance their careers in a competitive academic climate, particularly in developing countries, but this does not excuse unethical behavior. Although the detected incidents of plagiarism represent a personal failure and a serious breach of academic integrity on the part of the authors, it also represents a lack of mentorship and a failure of affiliated institutions. Clearly the culture of academia and professional aquaculture needs to change so that there is zero tolerance for plagiarism. It is only when the academic culture breaks this cycle and considers such behavior unethical that a community of scientists with integrity will advance our field. Beyond dishonesty, plagiarism suggests a certain laziness and lack of critical and original thinking. It’s not just using someone else’s words, but also their ideas. It also suggests that the way scientific writing is taught is ineffective. Often there are too few opportunities to edit and revise manuscripts in academic writing assignments. Institutions are encouraged to develop a set of best practices for scientific writing to avoid incidents of plagiarism or other ethical breaches. Institutions can also develop codes of conduct or guidelines to explicitly indicate expectations of individuals writing on behalf of their affiliated institution. Plagiarism and other ethical misconduct must be handled forthrightly and address root causes in each case. More broadly, there is a need to raise the level of importance of ethics training to put it on par with technical training. The World Aquaculture Society, its chapters and affiliates, and other professional aquaculture organizations can play a key role in fostering a culture of academic integrity and professionalism. The responsibility for ethical behavior is shared among students, mentors, and institutional administrators. Responsible aquaculture includes responsible professionals. Potential contributors to World Aquaculture magazine are encouraged to consult various online sources for clarification of how to document sources appropriately and avoid plagiarism. — John A. Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief Plagiarism at World Aquaculture Lwin Wins Best Paper Award To entice contributions of high-quality articles describing original work, the WAS Board of Directors has committed to support a “best paper” award for articles published in World Aquaculture magazine. The WAS Awards Committee concurs that the article written by May Myat Noe Lwin will receive the award as the best paper of those published in the four issues of 2012. The article, written with the assistance of Dave Conley, appeared in the September issue and is entitled “My Personal Experience as a Burmese Woman Farmer and Entrepreneur in the Aquaculture Industry in Thailand.” Noe Noe (as she is known) will receive a cash prize for relating her compelling personal story. Potential contributors should take note that this award will be ongoing and made annually.
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