Business, Innovation and Skills CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by The Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI)
Executive Summary
1. The Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI) is a learned society based in the U.K. supporting scientific activity in fish biology and fisheries management through charitable sponsorship. Our work is almost entirely dependent on income generated through scientific publishing and we have concerns that the financial uncertainty for learned societies that is likely to arise from current Open Access proposals has not been adequately taken into account. We recommend in particular that consideration is given to lengthening the short 6 months embargo currently proposed under Green Open Access. We also recommend that every effort is made to ensure full and proper consultation with learned societies and other key stakeholders.
Brief Introduction to FSBI
2. The Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI, www.fsbi.org.uk) is a learned society based in the U.K., although also operating internationally, supporting scientific activity in the field of fish biology and fisheries management through charitable sponsorship. Membership is open to anyone interested in these objectives. We are registered in the U.K. as a charity (Number: 256475) and are affiliated to the Society of Biology and the Society for Science and Technology.
3. FSBI is a significant funder of research into freshwater and marine fish biology in the U.K. and elsewhere, including associated educational and outreach activities. In addition to funding highly competitive and highly valued PhD studentships, we also award research grants, travel grants and paid internships. Each year we hold a subsidised international research symposium and in 2012 we also hosted and substantially sponsored the 6th World Fisheries Congress in Edinburgh. We have published the international peer-reviewed Journal of Fish Biology since 1969. Currently, we publish this respected journal in association with Wiley (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1095–8649).
Factual Information
4. Like many other learned societies, FSBI is extremely dependent on income from publishing in order to fund its charitable objectives. Although we hold investments and have an appropriate reserves policy, we have few other feasible options for fund raising and so direct publishing income remains critical to our activities. For example, in 2011 this source accounted for 88% of our total income and we anticipate a similar contribution for 2012 and into the future. As charity trustees, if our Council has good reason to anticipate a significant increase in income uncertainty then our prudent course of action has to be a significant curtailment of our charitable activities. Given that the latter involve several studentship commitments each of over 3 years, we necessarily have to err on the side of caution.
Recommendations for Action
5. Most individual FSBI members are aware of the research implications of the Open Access initiative through their personal employment positions and can broadly welcome it. However, as an organisation FSBI has concerns that the implications of the likely resulting financial uncertainty for many learned societies have not been adequately taken into account.
6. In particular, the income-generating consequences for learned societies and their publishers of the short 6 months embargo proposed under Green Open Access seem particularly difficult to predict. We recommend that consideration is given to significantly lengthening this period.
7. We also recommend that every effort is made to ensure full and proper consultation with learned societies and other key stakeholders.
Ian J Winfield, Honorary President
7 February 2013