A Potential Positive Effect of Unwanted Self-isolation for Scientists?

I am writing this editorial in my fifth week of self-isolation and working from my home office, being in the same situation as many others across the globe, trying to limit the spread of the ongoing pandemic. A positive impact of being away from the labs and colleagues and less time spent in meetings and travels could be more time to finally complete writing the publications you probably have started but never finished. I hope this period will see a positive effect on the number of publications from my group, but I also hope this leads to a positive impact on many good papers being submitted to JAFPT. A new submission does not have to be a research paper; we also publish short research notes (two examples in this issue), guest editorials or opinion papers, and book reviews, if we feel the topic is relevant for our readers.

In this issue, we can read about gelatin extracted from tuna skin waste with promising properties and a comprehensive study of the functional components of nineteen microalgae and six bivalve species. We also learn that Italian consumers prefer wild over farmed aquatic food, considering the former healthier and tastier than the latter. The article also reports that consumers have a willingness to pay a premium price for certified organic aquatic foods. For the aquaculture industry, such results are important knowledge, as consumer preferences do not always represent scientific facts.

We also have, as mentioned, two research notes in this issue; one on structural changes in skate muscle during fermentation, and one showing how important method is for determination of pH measurements in pre-rigor fish muscle. Measurement of pH is one of the most common methods in all fish research, but it is also maybe the method most often done incorrectly. As the authors conclude: method matters!