The membership of the FMA is composed of trawl vessel owners, skippers and deck hands. The Association is divided into districts with each district electing members to the Board of Directors . Today the FMA supplies groundfish and shrimp to around twenty different fish processing companies at over forty buying stations from Bellingham, Washington to San Pedro, California. These deliveries account for in excess of fifty percent of the groundfish and shrimp delivered to domestic processors on the West Coast. The foremost objective of the FMA is to promote market stability.
Market stability is accomplished through uniform prices and continuous supply.
The FMA functions as a facilitator for discussions by fishermen to establish a uniform and stable price along the coast. When fishermen agree to a minimum price for their products many of the wild fluctuations in price, caused by availability due to weather, have been eliminated. Processors, wholesalers, and retail buyers often appreciate this stability in price which does not occur in all seafoods. To an ever increasing degree, legislation and regulation are impacting the lives and businesses of those directly involved in the trawl industry. To insure that the concerns of the trawl industry are heard and understood, the FMA maintains continuous contact with key people in the U.S. Congress and all three state legislatures.