The Philippine Journal of Fisheries (TPJF) is the official joint publication of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). It is a semi-annual, open-access journal that accepts full paper, review articles, and short communications, among others, on relevant topics covering all aspects of fisheries, both in basic and applied sciences.

The inception of TPJF in the early 1950s was among the major leaps of enthusiasm in fisheries research. Its pilot issue appeared with the publication of the January-June 1951 Volume 1 Nos. 1 and 2. It had already published 23 volumes when its circulation ceased in 1992.

In 2015, NFRDI created a project to revive TPJF. That same year, the organization of the journal administrative board started with the appointment of the current editor-in-chief, Dr. Mudjekeewis D. Santos, and the creation of the editorial board members composed of local and international experts in the field of fisheries science. TPJF was re-launched in Tagaytay City during the 7th Fisheries Scientific Conference held on September 29-30, 2016.

The following year, two special issues of TPJF were published: Fisheries Resources and Ecological Assessment of Manila Bay 2012-2015 and Pollution in Manila Bay Aquaculture Farms, which served as TPJF Vol. 24 Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Thus, after 25 years of hiatus, TPJF is now officially revived. To date, TPJF Volume 25 Nos. 1 and 2 has been published, and more are yet to come.

Since its revival, TPJF sought necessary journal accreditation and indexing to keep up with the standards of national and international journals. NFRDI now has its own digital object identifier (DOI) prefix, which can be used in all of its publications. TPJF articles are now accessible in the Aquatic Commons website. Aquatic Commons is a thematic digital repository covering the natural marine, estuarine, or brackish, and freshwater environments.

Regarding indexing, TPJF is now indexed under Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstract (ASFA), the premier reference in the field of fisheries, aquatic, and marine sciences. ASFA is managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Last February 28, TPJF’s managing editor and its layout artist received an award at the De La Salle University for being indexed under the Andrew Gonzalez Philippine Citation Index (AGPCI). AGPCI is a journal indexing and citation database for Philippine academic journals. It aims to assist local journals improve their quality and attain international accreditation. TPJF is one of the pioneer journals indexed under AGPCI. The journal’s ultimate goal now is to be indexed under Scopus and ISI to attract more Filipino researchers in the field of fisheries to publish their work and contribute to the local and international body of knowledge. (Cyrenes Moncawe)