For MDPI, 2026 brings great opportunity for celebration and reflection. Not only does it mark 30 years of MDPI’s commitment to advancing open science, but it also coincides with many monumental anniversaries for some of MDPI’s leading journals.

To celebrate its 10^th anniversary, this edition of our Journal Spotlight will be taking a look at the achievements and growth of Fishes (ISSN 2410-3888).

Fishes is an international, peer-reviewed Open Access journal on fish and aquatic animal research. The journal provides a forum for scholars to publish original ideas and their latest achievements regarding their area of research.

Editor in Chief: Prof. Dr. Maria Angeles Esteban

Current Impact Factor: 2.9

Current CiteScore: 4.4

Statistics as of June 2026.

A Fishes MDPI timeline

• 2016 – Inaugural issue was released
• 2019 – Fishes was indexed in Scopus (Elsevier)
• 2020 – Fishes became affiliated with the Iberian Society of Ichthyology (SIBIC)
• 2021 – Fishes was indexed in SCIE (Web of Science)
• 2022 – Fishes became affiliated with the Brazilian Society of Aquaculture and Aquatic Biology (AQUABIO)
• 2026 – 10^th anniversary of Fishes

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Dr. Maria Angeles Esteban has been Editor-in-Chief of Fishes since its launch in 2016 and currently works as a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Histology at the University of Murcia, Spain. She is committed to open, reproducible science, training early career researchers, and delivering tools that can enhance fish welfare and improve farm resilience.

Prof. Dr. Esteban’s research interests include cell biology, immunology and biotechnology, and she leads the Immunobiology for Aquaculture Team which is currently researching farmed fish immunology. The team focus on developing minimally invasive biomarkers and evidence-based interventions such as functional feeds, probiotics and antimicrobial peptides.

Aims & scope

In the journal’s first editorial piece, Prof. Dr. Esteban highlights the importance of the study of fish in terms of their evolution and the aquatic environment, noting that they represent excellent scientific and biological models for studies on development, morphology, physiology, biomedical research and behaviour in other species.

Fishes aims to be an essential point of reference for those interested in aquatic life science and aquatic animals.

“Our aim is to advance our knowledge of fundamental aspects of fish biology, and address the growing importance of fish in aquaculture, biomedicine and biotechnology through innovative science.” – Prof. Dr. Maria Angeles Esteban, EiC (2016 – present)

The journal’s scope includes aquatic toxicology and pollution, ecological and evolutionary issues, and fisheries management. A full list of topics in the journal’s scope can be found here.

Journal metrics

Most cited and viewed

The Fishes’ publication that is the most cited and viewed paper, as of June 2026, is a piece entitled “Main Components of Fish Immunity: An Overview of the Fish Immune System”.

Impact Factor

Fishes received its first Impact Factor of 2.3 in 2021 and currently holds an Impact Factor rating of 2.9.

The journal is placed in Q1 for the “Marine and Freshwater Biology” Journal Citation Report (JCR) category, and Q2 for the “Fisheries” categories.

CiteScore

The journal’s CiteScore sits at 4.4 as of 2026. Fishes is positioned in Q1 for the “Ecology, Evolution, Behaviour and Systematics” and “Aquatic Science” CiteScore categories, and Q2 for the “Ecology” category.

Indexing

Fishes is indexed within a large range of databases and archives, including:

• BibCnrs
• CNPIEC
• Dimensions
• DOAJ
• AGRICOLA
• OSTI
• Scopus (Elsevier)
• SCIE (Web of Science)

Access the complete list of associated indexing services here.

Altmetrics

As of June 2026, Fishes has received 101 mentions in policy documents, 12 mentions in patents and 214 mentions across various news outlets and blogs.

The Fishes community

MDPI’s Fishes journal is enthusiastic about fostering positive relationships with the academic community it serves, and does this through various awards, affiliations and conferences.

Awards

Fishes is currently accepting nominations for its Travel Award, with a deadline of 31 October 2026, and Best PhD Thesis Award, with a deadline of 31 August 2026.

The journal is also announcing winners for its Best Paper Award on 30 June 2026 and Outstanding Reviewer Award on 31 March 2027.

Learn more about the Fishes awards here, and read our blog article on MDPI’s award programme here.

Affiliations

Fishes became affiliated with the Iberian Society of Ichthyology (SIBIC) in 2020. SIBIC aims to gather the collective efforts of professionals working on the study and conservation of native fishes of inland and marine ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula.

Two years later, the journal became affiliated with the Brazilian Society of Aquaculture and Aquatic Biology (AQUABIO), a non-profit organisation with the main objective of representing the scientific community of all aquaculture-related disciplines in Brazil.

Learn more about the journal’s affiliations here.

Conferences

Conferences present a valuable opportunity to connect with the wider academic community. The journal engages with a wide range of conferences hosted by MDPI.

MDPI is hosting the 1^st International Online Conference on Fishes from 5 to 6 November 2026. The conference will feature sessions on topics such as climate change impact and marine pollution, genetics and genomics, and biodiversity protection. Learn more about the conference here.

See more information regarding upcoming events related to the Fishes journal.

Testimonials

“I recently published a review article in Fishes, prompted by a generous invitation from the journal. The review process was very rapid and of high quality. The support and kindness of the Editorial Office was excellent. Publication was achieved within a few days.” – Dr. Héctor G. Nolasco Soria, Author

“Reviewing for MDPI was a positive and well-organised experience. The editorial team provided clear guidelines and reasonable timelines, which made the process manageable despite my busy academic schedule. I appreciated the opportunity to contribute to the peer review process and support the dissemination of relevant scientific research.” – Prof. Dr. Albena Alexandrova, Reviewer

Submitting a manuscript

Manuscripts for Fishes should be submitted online at susy.mdpi.com.

Prior to submitting, we recommend that authors explore the useful resources on our instructions for authors webpage.

To submit your manuscript, register and login to the submission website. Once you have registered, click here to go to the submission form. The submitting author, who is generally the corresponding author, is responsible for the manuscript during the submission and peer review process.

All co-authors can see the manuscript details in the submission system if they register and login using the e-mail address provided during manuscript submission.

If you’d like to find out more about Fishes and its publication process, please visit the journal website.

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