We have attempted to solicit and garner specific high-profile articles that were being considered by their authors for submission to other more highly ranked journals, our hope being that publishing such important papers would lead to an increase in the readership and citations. Also, I would have to say that the rigor in the review process probably has increased over the years. Thus, authors would realize that only quality papers would appear in the journal and that they should consider it for some of their most important studies. Although increased rigor can lead to a temporary low ebb in published articles, if one can survive the lull, it should result in greater respect within the scientific community and a greater eagerness to publish within the journal.

Aside from what I mentioned above, we change Editors-in-Chief approximately once every three years.

The only historical factor that I could surmise that might have some effect would be the fact that there have been a number of high-profile aquatic diseases (some of a zoonotic nature) that may have attracted the interest of the biomedical community (e.g., Pfiesteria, Mycobacteriosis).

Simply stated, as in the journal title, aquatic animal health. But also health and disease among aquatic species.

There has been a tremendous increase in the economic development potential of aquaculture. As in the case with all intensive animal culture situations, the problems with infectious diseases become greatly magnified. When allied with potential new sources of income for people around the world, the interest in aquatic animal health must also increase.

Secondly, another area of great importance is the interface between aquatic animal health and human health, particularly within freshwater and estuarine systems. This has been heavily profiled and recognized by NOAA and NIH through their respective Oceans and Human Health programs. The zoonotic potential of the aquatic species has been relatively unnoticed over the past years, and either through more intensive examination, or due to changing environmental conditions, the incidence of human health issues associated with the aquatic environment and species has dramatically increased.