In 1970 the Belize Fishermen Cooperative Association Ltd. - the federal society the fishing cooperatives were thinking of forming since 1963 - became a legal entity. But members did not want it to engage in processing and marketing of marine products. Instead it was designed to provide only education, legal and technical services to its members.
Throughout its 18 years of existence, leaving out an effort to operate its own fishing supply store, the BFCA has spent most of its resources chiefly in the following areas:
Fostering, strengthening and maintaining closer cooperation among the cooperatives;
Providing information to member societies pertaining to anything that affected the industry especially efforts that threatened the protected interest among the producers and their relative control over commercial fishery;
Keeping watch over the fisheries laws and regulations and influencing changes for the protection and preservation of the industry;
Assisting the cooperatives in areas that would enhance their productivity and survival;