Since 1989 MFSE has been a 501 (C)(3) non-profit, dedicated to assisting researchers and research throughout the United States. With the purchase of the Searcher in 1997, MFSE began to expand its marine research program. Initial projects included open ocean pollutant assays, sampling for the presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals around Hawaii and in the open Pacific. Since then, Searcher has worked on fisheries projects throughout the Hawaiian Islands in conjunction with the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR). The Searcher has circumnavigated all of the main Hawaiian Islands studying bottomfish (Ehu and Onaga) as part of a breeding program and for DNA population analysis, as well as tagging and tracking various pelagic species.
