TheNew Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research (NZJMFR)has published 1177 articles in 1967–90, of which 762 (65%) had marine and 415 (35%) had freshwater topics. Of the marine papers, 276 were oceanographic articles and 269 articles were on fisheries. The remaining 217 marine articles were on a variety of topics, but most involved descriptive studies, particularly on species’ life histories and taxonomy. Only 4% of all articles specifically examined species interactions and just 6% were experimental studies where hypotheses were tested.NZJMFRdoes not reflect the quality and quantity of experimental work done in coastal ecosystems by New Zealand scientists nor does it have the high content of quantitative and experimental studies of leading international marine journals. It has instead been a repository of mostly descriptive information about New Zealand marine species. As such it has played a valuable role in support of marine science by publishing many articles of primarily local content that are not appropriately placed in larger international journals.NZJMFRcould expand its role in marine science by encouraging more quantitative and experimental work, particularly as it relates to scientific questions concerning the management of marine resources and coastal areas.