Letter from the editor

Abstract

Dear contributors:
 After 5 consecutive years as editor-in-chief of Ciencias Marinas, Dr. Alejandro Cabello Pasini has now abdicated this position to undertake other academic projects at the Autonomous University of Baja California (Mexico). This change in editorship concurs with the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Ciencias Marinas and marks the beginning of a new phase in the growth and development of our scholarly journal. The editorial team has thus far completed many projects, such as updating our publishing platform, all aimed to improve journal presentation, visibility, and accessibility. It has now taken the first steps in transitioning from an electronic publishing format to a completely digital format, and it will continue to work hard to guarantee that Ciencias Marinas continues evolving.
 Over these past 45 years Ciencias Marinas has been a conduit for the professional and inclusive delivery of sound scientific information on the four disciplines of marine science (biology, physics, geology, and chemistry). At the moment we are focusing on strengthening our international support system to reach higher publishing standards. To achieve this goal, we are expanding, refining, and updating our editorial board, which now includes even more international experts with outstanding academic careers. We will continue to expand our editorial board by extending additional invitations to other experts who wish to collaborate in this project that is Ciencias Marinas, and we hope to soon welcome new member to our board.
 I would now like to take the opportunity to thank previous editors-in-chief for their contributions, which have elevated our journal to its current position. Their contributions give me a great advantage to further improve the quality of the journal products. I am also thankful to the members of the editorial board, who have provided much support by efficiently and professionally managing the editorial processes of our submissions. As a result of this work, our list of reviewers has significantly increased in number and quality, and this will reflect on the quality of the papers we publish. We are working our way to better our remote communication with the editorial board so we can jointly establish new publication strategies aimed to improve the quality of our journal and its impact in the scientific community.
 I want to thank the Autonomous University of Baja California for all the support it has provided over these past 45 years for the upkeep of the journal. My thanks go to the editorial office administration staff, who have done and continue doing an excellent job, and to the reviewers, the readers, and the authors, because without them this journal would not be what it is today. We will keep working with everyone to continually improve Ciencias Marinas, and we hope we continue receiving your contributions. In the meantime, please feel free to visit our website and check our new journal cover and other new things we have set up you.
 Sincerely,
 Miguel Angel Huerta Díaz 
 Editor-in-chief