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If your organization or association is interested in joining the over 200 member organizations in protecting marine fish please:
1) Read the Network's National Agenda to promote, restore and conserve marine fish and;
2) Sign and return a copy of the  Statement of Support to:
Marine Fish Conservation Network
600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 210
Washington DC, 20003
Fax: 202-543-5774
Environmental organizations, recreational and commercial fishing
associations, aquariums, and marine science groups are invited to join
the Marine Fish Conservation Network (Network). Membership to the
Network is free and is a unique coalition of over 190 environmental
organizations, commercial and recreational fishing associations,
aquariums, and marine science groups. These diverse organizations all
have one thing in common: a desire to conserve marine fish for future
generations.
The Network was originally created in 1992 to advocate for the
inclusion of conservation measures in the Magnuson Act, the federal law
that governs ocean fish. After four years of hard work, the Network
persuaded Congress to pass the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) and
important conservation provisions were included in the federal law. The
responsibility to implement the mandates of the SFA was now in the
hands of eight regional fishery management councils with oversight from
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Thinking that the focus would shift to the regional councils, the
Network disbanded. But by the summer of 1997, it was evident to former
Network members that the regional councils, and more importantly NMFS,
as it wrote the National Guidelines for implementing the SFA, were not
fulfilling their responsibilities to implement the conservation
measures of the SFA as Congress intended. In light of these failings,
the former members formally reconstituted the Network in 1998 to
address this lack of compliance, as well as to prepare for the upcoming
reauthorization of the newly renamed Magnuson-Stevens Act. Since
reforming, the Network has been actively involved in SFA implementation
by evaluating the work of the councils and NMFS, and identifying
deficiencies in the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
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