On this day in history, ...

... in 1926, the first issue of the Journal du Conseil International pour l’Exploration de la Mer was published, marking the launch of what is now known as the ICES Journal of Marine Science. Created to serve as the official publication of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), this first issue formalized the council’s commitment to disseminating marine research across national boundaries.

The editorial note in this inaugural issue outlined the journal’s purpose: each issue would include a general article on ICES-related work, one or two short scientific articles (previously published in Publications de Circonstance), updates on current work, literature reviews, and a current bibliography. The former series of ad-hoc publications would be discontinued, giving way to this more consistent and structured format.

The journal was multilingual and pan-European in scope, reflecting the international spirit of ICES since its founding in 1902. The first issue included a Selected Bibliography of Fishery and General Publications, compiled by Dr. E. J. Allen, and established a bibliographic tradition that would be continued and formalized in later issues.

Although the Journal du Conseil has undergone multiple transformations—including a name change to ICES Journal of Marine Science in 1991—it has remained a pillar of marine science publishing, focusing on fisheries, oceanography, ecosystems, and marine resource management with a strong emphasis on international cooperation.

Sources

• Editorial Note, Journal du Conseil, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 3–4, February 1926. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/1.1.3
• ICES. (2023). Celebrating a Century of Marine Science: History of the ICES Journal of Marine Science. https://www.ices.dk/Science/publications/ijms/Documents/IJMShistory.pdf