Howard I. Browman | Lightnews

Howard Browman

@hbrowman.bsky.social

Marine/fisheries ecologist, Institue of Marine Research, Norway + Editor-in-Chief, ICES Journal of Marine Science + Council Member & Trustee, Committee on Publication Ethics - https://fishlarvae.org/people/scientists/howard-i-browman/ .. more

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Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Colin F. Camerer, Ben C. Sheldon , and 26 more Dorothy Bishop, Colin F. Camerer, Ben C. Sheldon, Juli G. Pausas, Dan Brockington, David M. Schultz, Sam Harper, Robert Böhm, Brendan Nyhan, Garry Peterson, Ross Woods, Howard I. Browman, Benjamin Braun, Ian Hussey, Jonathan Hopkin, Paolo Crosetto, Veli‐Matti Karhulahti, Jacob T. Levy, Margot C. Finn, Matt N Williams, Alberto Corsín Jiménez, Patrick Präg, Rense Corten, Juanjo Medina, Julie Novkov, Matti Vuorre, Tom Louwerse, José Pina-Sánchez, Catherine M. Hulshof

Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 1d

We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...

A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below.

1. The four-fold drain
1.1 Money
Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for
whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who
created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis,
which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024
alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit
margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher
(Elsevier) always over 37%.
Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most
consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial
difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor &
Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American
researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The
Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3
billion in that year.

A figure detailing the drain on researcher time.

1. The four-fold drain

1.2 Time
The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce,
with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure
1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material
has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs,
grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for
profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time.
The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million
unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of
peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting
widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the
authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many
review demands.
Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of
scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in
‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow
progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to
volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier,
local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with
limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging
with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks
intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision.

A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below:

1. The four-fold drain
1.1 Money
Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for
whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who
created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis,
which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024
alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit
margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher
(Elsevier) always over 37%.
Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most
consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial
difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor &
Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American
researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The
Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3
billion in that year.

The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised
scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers
first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour
resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 7d

Join the 2000 readers of our editorial that will be of interest to anyone involved in academics, knowledge production and its dissemination, or scholarly publishing @easeeditors.bsky.social @deltathink.bsky.social @scholarlypub.bsky.social @doaj.bsky.social - academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 7d

The first 100 years of the ICES Journal of Marine Science - academic.oup.com/icesjms/adva...

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 7d

Call for papers- @ICESmarine – Celebrating a century of marine science - @NOAAFisheries @AmFisheriesSoc @TheFSBI @challengersoc @marinescotland @CefasGovUK @fishoceanscan @ifremer_fr @Havforskningen @UNOceanDecade @faofish @EMarineBoard –
academic.oup.com/icesjms/page...

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · 8d

🚨Advice release - eel
ICES advice to @ec.europa.eu, North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission #NEAFC, Norway, & UK on fishing opportunities and conservation for eel in 2026 has been released today doi.org/10.17895/ice...

All the latest ICES advice is available online www.ices.dk/advice/Pages...

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · 9d

How do small-scale & Indigenous fisheries manage complex fish populations without the data used in commercial fishing?
The latest Editor's Choice shows what’s possible when genomic science & Traditional Ecological Knowledge work together.
📄https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaf187
📷Raphaël Bouchard

Rows of fish drying on wooden poles under a blue sky and sunshine.

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

Environmental Information: Use and Influence (Dalhousie Univ.) @eiui.bsky.social · 11d

“Ocean-related research is undergoing a transformation…to address complex, multifactorial, & uncertain societal challenges,” which in turn pose challenges for early career researchers. Buchholzer et al. discuss 3 key challenges & offer practical advice @icesmarine.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/ices...

Title, authors’ names, abstract, and keywords from a paper about challenges faced by early career professionals in ocean-related research

Reposted by Howard I. Browman, Jan Geert Hiddink

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · 14d

📢Do you know an early-career scientist whose work should take centre stage?
Nominate them to be our early-career scientist keynote speaker at ICES ASC 2026.
Deadline for nominations: 2 November ⏰
ℹ️https://www.ices.dk/news-and-events/news-archive/news/Pages/ECSasc26Keynote.aspx

#SIIECS

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 17d

Join the >1600 readers of our editorial that will be of interest to anyone involved in academics, knowledge production and its dissemination, or scholarly publishing @easeeditors.bsky.social @deltathink.bsky.social @scholarlypub.bsky.social @doaj.bsky.social - academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 17d

and read all of the articles in this series here - academic.oup.com/icesjms/page...

Food for Thought: Luminaries

Explore our curated collection of Food for Thought articles written by distinguished luminaries in the field of Marine Science. Bruce H Robison What's down the

academic.oup.com

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 17d

New article in the “luminaries” series – @ICESmarine @OUPAcademic #SIIECS – academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

COPE @publicationethics.bsky.social · 21d

COPE has released updated #Retraction guidelines, and new #ExpressionsOfConcern guidelines.

Elizabeth Moylan and Howard Browman explain what’s new and why it matters: https://publicationethics.org/news-opinion/new-and-updated-guidelines-post-publication-review

#PostPublicationCorrection

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 23d

Join the >1000 readers of our editorial that will be of interest to anyone involved in academics, knowledge production and its dissemination, or scholarly publishing @easeeditors.bsky.social @deltathink.bsky.social @scholarlypub.bsky.social @doaj.bsky.social - academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · 29d

This one should interest anyone involved in academics, knowledge production and its dissemination, or scholarly publishing @icesmarine.bsky.social - academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · Sep 28

@peerreviewweek.bsky.social #PRW2025 - facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/...

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · Sep 21

www.aslo.org/2025-applica...

Reposted by Howard I. Browman, Nathalie A. Steins

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Sep 18

💙A huge thanks to our friends at Klaipeda University!
From the smooth logistics to the warm welcome, your organizing team made #ICESASC25 not just possible but unforgettable.
We’re grateful for the hard work, energy & hospitality you brought to every detail.
Klaipeda you’ve been amazing 🌊🐟🎶

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Sep 18

Congratulations to Sissel Kolls Bertelsen @dtu.dk Denmark, awarded Best Presentation at #ICESASC25 for her work Out with the Inputs and in with the Outputs that evaluated which technical measures could become redundant under Fully Documented Fisheries without compromising sustainability. Well done!

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Sep 18

Congratulations to Abril Reynes Cardona, Ghent University, Belgium, awarded Best presentation at #ICESASC25 for her work on Offshore wind farm development alters food web structure and carbon flows; insights from 14-year data-driven study. Great work- well done!

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Sep 18

Congratulations to Anika Sonjudóttir, Marine and Freshwater Research Institute Iceland @mfri.bsky.social for being awarded Best poster at #ICESASC25 for her work on exploring the impact of capelin decline in Icelandic waters through the marine food web. Great work!

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Sep 18

Congratulations to Juliane Niewar, Institute of Marine Ecosystem and Fishery Science, Universität Hamburg @uni-hamburg.de for being awarded Best poster for her work on Understanding the effects of climate change and fishing on the Western Baltic Sea via dynamic food-web modeling.
Great work!

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

Edd Hind-Ozan, Ph.D. @socialseas.bsky.social · Sep 17

Can you spot Reviewer 2?

Peer review training is rare, so we had a great networking session aimed at improving our peer review skills at this morning’s #ICESASC25.

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Sep 17

Day 3 of #ICESASC25 is up and running!

First up this morning is a network session on peer-review. Come along to discuss challenges, solutions and strategies for becoming an effective reviewer!

Reposted by Howard I. Browman, Jan Geert Hiddink

Nathalie Steins @nathaliesteins.bsky.social · Sep 15

Congratulations @hbrowman.bsky.social - winner of the @icesmarine.bsky.social Outstanding Achievement Award! #ICESASC25

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

Nathalie Steins @nathaliesteins.bsky.social · Sep 4

11 days to go to until #ICESASC25. So there is still time to knit, crochet, paint, .... goodies for our marine-themed #craft pop-up shop. Ocean-inspired clothes and toys also welcome. Swap or buy. All proceeds go to a #Klaipeda charity.

I knitted these lovely halibut hats.
@icesmarine.bsky.social

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · Sep 2

@icesmarine.bsky.social - Join us in celebrating by submitting an article to the 100th anniversary issue! Call for papers: academic.oup.com/icesjms/page... - Cartoon by Bas Kohler

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Aug 29

Meet the mentees👩‍🔬👨‍🔬📝
🗣 Alexandra Schneider @akschneider.bsky.social | Kerr lab, University of Maine
🗣 Julia Polo Sainz | @uitnorgesarktiske.bsky.social
🗣 Thomas Clegg @tomclegg.bsky.social | Havforskningen
🗣 Ming Sun @swim-in-the-sun.bsky.social | Virginia Institute of Marine Science

#supportingECS

Reposted by Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · Aug 29

🤔 How does mentorship strengthen science & publishing?

This year’s mentees of ICES Journal of Marine Science Editorial Mentorship Programme talk about their experiences & what the mentorship means to them 🤝✨

👇 Here's what they had to say
📖 Read the full story: shorturl.at/15KsZ

#supportingECS

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · Aug 17

Read the latest article from our team
@AlessandroCre90 @durifcaroline @ICES_ASC @Havforskningen @NOAAFisheries @CefasGovUK
@EU_MARE @ifremer_fr – onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

Howard Browman @hbrowman.bsky.social · Jul 4

Highly recommended reading - academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

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