In 1954, industry leaders established two organizations: the Southern California Fisheries Association, which had a marketing and promotions emphasis, and the Northern California Seafood Institute, which focused largely on production and legislative and regulatory advocacy. Over time the geographic names were dropped; then in the 1980s, leaders from the each association merged the two, spawning the California Fisheries and Seafood Institute. The preamble to our by-laws has remained unchanged for over 60 years – they are our Mission Statement:

This Institute is an association of individuals and business firms engaged in, or allied to, the consumer seafood supply industry. It is formed for the following purposes:

1. To preserve, foster and promote the consumer seafood supply industry, and related activities and to advocate sound legislation for the improvement, preservation, and promotion of the industry; and
2. To market and promote the consumption of seafood and to provide, enhance and communicate a positive image of seafood products and the seafood industry to consumers; and
3. To protect the right of the public to demand free and continuous access to seafood of all types as a valuable source of food and useful commercial products; and
4. To advocate true conservation through utilization of the maximum sustainable yield of all marine resources; and
5. To encourage efforts to plant and maintain those species of marine life susceptible to scientific propagation.

These five (5) preambles have guided the work we do for the industry for seven decades, and we think our founding leaders were visionary.

CFSI members are the leaders that guide the industry; the individuals that promote the industry. They protect the very special interests of the industry. CFSI members advocate good things for the industry and fight with passion against the things that are bad for the industry. If you are a new member, you are part of a select groups of leaders.

Please view below a brief list of battles we have fought and won.

• Defeated over two dozen bills that would have banned commercial fishing for a wide variety of well managed local fisheries or made them gamefish only
• After a California Attorney General rendered an opinion that stated the Fish and Game code compelled a privilege tax on all fish landed or brought into the state at the landing tax rates specified in the code, and that these rates applied each time the fish changed hands at the wholesale level and the collection of the taxes should be collected for the preceding seven (7) years, CFSI sponsored urgency legislation requiring an almost impossible 2/3rds majority vote of both the Assembly and the Senate to overturn the AG Opinion.
• Opposed efforts to increase the state minimum wage to unsustainable levels.
• Successfully fought attempts by legislators to increase landing taxes and institute the same rates to imported seafood.
• Stopped Ad Valorem tax proposals of up to 5% of the price of all seafood sold in California
• Defeated legislation to ban the possession, transfer and sale of farm raised salmon.
• Defeated a bill to ban the sale of shrimp that contain sulfites to retard melanosis even when the presence of sulfites are listed in the ingredient labeling.
• Been involved in all matters relating to Prop 65 Warnings, including opposing a current Administration backed plan to require revise the current generic warnings and require that warnings be very specific and list the chemicals that have been have been deemed to cause cancer or birth defects on the warning on every fish species.
• Formed coalitions of like-minded organizations that lead to the defeat and veto of onerous, confusing, “California Only” seafood labeling bills that would serve to assist scofflaws and confuse the public and to increase and shift fines and penalties to the imported or distributor in the wholesale sector.
• Worked with state health officials on a wide variety of food and drug issues including the monitoring of local shellfish (clams, oysters, and mussels), also imported raw molluscan shellfish.
• Successfully fought legislation to expand family leave legislation that was too disruptive to business and unworkable for employers
• Working with state health officials on demoic acid levels in a variety of commercially harvested species over time. Timely this year is shared state/industry concerns about the high levels of demoic acid in Dungeness crab.
• Sponsored efforts to assist in the marketing of under-utilized species and improve the marketability of same by nomenclature changes.
• Been involved in numerous (and what many declare to be the best) legislative seafood receptions in the state, developing strong support for the industry.
• Supported bills to establish the California Seafood council, the Sea Urchin Commission, the Salmon Council.
• Supported the ban of the sale of contaminated oysters from the Gulf of Mexico during summer months when there are dangerous levels of Vibrio Vulnificus linked to the deaths of Californians with immune deficiencies or liver disease.
• Successfully fought to efforts to restrict the sale of imported shrimp simply because they MIGHT have trace levels of a chemical or chemicals on the Prop 65 list.
• Require any salmon species to have a special warning label if there are trace amounts of PCB’s in their flesh.
• Supported legislation to expedite state issued Export Certificate’s and have maintained a reasonable cost for the certificates ($100).
• Worked with the California Attorney general’s Office on Prop 65 matters relating to farmed and wild salmon, & shrimp, domestic and imported shark and swordfish.
• Supported legislative efforts to establish the California Shellfish Initiative establishing a goal to triple the production of shellfish (oysters).

Have been members of the Resources Agency Sea Grant Advisory Panel, funding fisheries and aquaculture research.