FOR THE FISHES

Financials

From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.

Officers, directors and key employees

As listed on the 990-EZ for the year ended December 31, 2024, highest compensation first.

Address and contacts

Address (IRS master file)

PO BOX 1894, KIHEI, HI 96753-1894

In care of

% RENE UMBERGER

Mailing address (990-N for 2016)

PO Box 1894, KIHEI HI 96753

Principal officer (990-N for 2016)

Lynn Allen, 266 Alaume Street, Kihei HI 96753

Signed the 990-EZ

LAURA LEGGE, DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT

Phone

(808) 283-7225

Website

www.FortheFishes.org

Return prepared by

BARBARA J QUERRY LLC

Mission

TO ADDRESS, EDUCATE, COORDINATE, AND ENHANCE ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY TO END TEH TRADE IN CORAL REEF WILDLIFE FOR HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER SMALL DISPLAY AQUARIUMS. OUR SUPPLY AND DEMAND SIDE STRATEGIES ARE DIRECTED LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY TO FACILITATE POSITIVE SHIFTS AT THE FISHERY, DISTRIBUTION, POLICY AND CONSUMER LEVELS.

Program accomplishments

• 1.EDUCATION AND OUTREACH: FOR THE FISHES (FTF) ADVOCATES FOR THE END OF THE CAPTURE, PURCHASE, AND DISPLAY OF WILD MARINE LIFE IN PERSONAL SALTWATER AQUARIUMS. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY, ENFORCEMENT, COALITION BUILDING, AND EFFORTS AIMED AT REDUCING CONSUMER DEMAND FOR WILD MARINE LIFE. THE FOCUS OF FTFS MAIN EFFORTS IS IN HAWAII, WHICH HISTORICALLY WAS THE WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST SOURCE OF WILD REEF FISHES AND OTHER CREATURES FOR THE MARINE AQUARIUM TRADE WHICH SELLS WILDLIFE TO AQUARIUM HOBBYIST, BUSINESSES, AND INSTITUTIONS WORLDWIDE. HAWAII'S COMPARATIVELY SMALL CORAL REEFS WERE HEAVILY IMPACTED BY DECADES OF OVER-EXPLOITATION. THE HAWAII AQUARIUM TRADE REGULARLY CAPTURED FAR MORE FISHES THAN WERE ALLOWED TO BE TAKEN BY THE QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA AQUARIUM COLLECTORS FROM AUSTRALIA'S ENTIRE GREAT BARRIER REEF WHICH IS 300 TIMES LARGER THAN HAWAII'S REEF AREA. HEAVILY TARGETED SPECIES HAVE BEEN DEPLETED BY UPWARDS OF 90% IN SOME OF HAWAII'S MOST HEAVILY IMPACTED AREAS. FTF HAS LONG ADVOCATED FOR THE NEED FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT AND SOLUTIONS. THE STATE'S FAILURE TO ENACT RULES OR LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE TRADES IMPACTS LED FTFS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO PURSUE LEGAL REMEDIES, ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF PARTNERS. WITH PRO BONO REPRESENTATION BY EARTHJUSTICE, THE NATION'S LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FIRM, THE FIRST LAW SUIT REACHED HAWAII'S SUPREME COURT AND RESULTED IN A RULING IN LATE 2017 THAT AQUARIUM COLLECTION PERMITS WERE ILLEGAL AND INVALID FOR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE HAWAII ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (HEPA). 2024 WAS THE SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR THAT HAWAII'S REEFS REMAINED FREE FROM THE DESTRUCTIVE AQUARIUM TRADE. THE ABSENCE OF AQUARIUM COLLECTION HAS RESULTED IN MILLIONS MORE ESSENTIAL REEF FISHES AND INVERTEBRATES ON HAWAII'S REEFS, ENHANCING THEIR HEALTH, BEAUTY, RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, AND IMMENSE BENEFITS TO RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, ALIKE. THIS INCREASE IN MARINE LIFE ABUNDANCE IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF FTFS WORK THAT HAS, THUS FAR, PREVENTED THE RESUMPTION OF AQUARIUM COLLECTION UNDER DEEPLY FLAWED EISS. HAWAII SHARK PROTECTION: ON JANUARY 1, 2022 THE HAWAII SHARK PROTECTION ACT TOOK EFFECT, AND HAWAII BECAME THE FIRST STATE IN THE NATION TO PROHIBIT THE INTENTIONAL OR KNOWING CAPTURE OR ENTANGLEMENT OF ANY SHARK, WHETHER ALIVE OR DEAD, OR KILLING OF ANY SHARK, WITHIN STATE MARINE WATERS. IN 2021 FTF AND ITS PARTNERS IN THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY LED THE EFFORT TO PASS THIS NEW LAW. FTF HAS CONTINUED TO REACH HAWAII RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES AND VISITORS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARKS TO NATIVE HAWAIIAN CULTURE, THEIR IMPORTANT ROLE IN A HEATHY OCEAN ECOSYSTEM AND THE PASSAGE OF THE HAWAII SHARK PROTECTION ACT IN SIGNAGE DISPLAYED AT HAWAII'S HARBORS AND BOAT RAMPS, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES. TANK WATCH: MOST PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE THAT FEWER THAN 5% OF THE FISH SPECIES KEPT IN SALTWATER AQUARIUMS CAN BE AQUACULTURED ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE, OR THAT THE U.S. MARINE AQUARIUM TRADE ANNUALLY IMPORTS OVER 11 MILLION WILD CORAL REEF FISHES FOR AQUARIUM HOBBYISTS, SMALL BUSINESS AND LARGE PUBLIC DISPLAY AQUARIUMS. FOR THE FISHES ADVOCATES FOR AN END TO THE KEEPING OF WILD MARINE LIFE IN PERSONAL SALTWATER AQUARIUMS AND WORKS TO EDUCATE CONSUMERS AND THE PUBLIC IN ORDER TO REDUCE CONSUMER DEMAND FOR THIS WILDLIFE. IN 2024 WE REACHED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AQUARIUM HOBBYISTS AND THOSE INTERESTED IN MARINE FISHKEEPING ON OUR WEBPAGE, TANK WATCH, DESIGNED TO EDUCATE MARINE AQUARIUM HOBBYISTS AND THROUGH SEARCH ENGINE ADS THANKS TO A GENEROUS IN-KIND DONATION FROM GOOGLE.
  Expenses $76,277
• 2. CONSERVATION: FTF WORKS TO PROTECT CORAL REEF WILDLIFE THROUGH REDUCING ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED AND UNREGULATED FISHING IN THE MARINE AQUARIUM TRADE. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, ADVOCACY, RESEARCH, AND CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT IN DOCUMENTING AND REPORTING SUSPECTED ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES IN THE MARINE AQUARIUM TRADE. AT A 2024 PRESENTATION TO OVER ONE HUNDRED GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WORLDWIDE, WE EXPOSED THE MYRIAD NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THE AQ TRADE DURING A TECHNICAL INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON MARINE ORNAMENTAL FISHES ORGANIZED BY THE CONVENTION ON TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES (CITES). 808-NO-POACH/ANTI-POACHING EFFORTS: FTF CONDUCTED INVESTIGATIONS STEMMING FROM INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CONCERNED CITIZENS IN HAWAII. PARTNERING WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, FTF LAID THE GROUNDWORK THAT LED TO CITATIONS, CONVICTIONS, AND LARGE FINES FOR A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN THREE LARGE AQUARIUM POACHING OPERATIONS ON HAWAII ISLAND. CYANIDE FISH ASSESSMENT: EXPERTS ESTIMATE THAT UPWARDS OF 90% OF CORAL REEF FISHES SOLD IN THE MARINE AQUARIUM TRADE ARE ILLEGALLY CAPTURED WITH CYANIDE WHICH IS USED TO PARALYZE FISH FOR EASY CAPTURE. CYANIDE IS HIGHLY POISONOUS TO BOTH THE VERTEBRATE AND INVERTEBRATE ORGANISMS EXPOSED TO IT: AT HIGHER CONCENTRATIONS IT IS IMMEDIATELY LETHAL, AND AT LOWER CONCENTRATIONS IT CAUSES ORGAN AND TISSUE DAMAGE THAT ARE IRREVERSIBLE AND LEAD TO DELAYED MORTALITY. FTF IS WORKING WITH A LEADING CORAL EXPERT AND FORENSIC ECOTOXICOLOGIST IN RESEARCH TO ASSESS THE PREVALENCE OF CYANIDE- CAUGHT FISH IN THE U.S. MARINE AQUARIUM TRADE.
  Expenses $16,800

What it must file and when

IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.

IRS record

EIN

47-3469519

Tax-exempt status

501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization

Foundation status

Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))

Donations deductible (Pub 78)

Public charity, 50% deduction limit

Exempt since

2015

Accounting year ends

December

Files

Form 990 or 990-EZ

Category (NTEE)

Animal-related (D30)

Assets (IRS master file)

$222,767

Income (IRS master file)

$133,197

Filing history

990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 47-3469519).

Questions about FOR THE FISHES

What is the EIN of FOR THE FISHES?

The employer identification number (EIN) of FOR THE FISHES is 47-3469519.

Is FOR THE FISHES tax-exempt?

Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2015.

Are donations to FOR THE FISHES tax-deductible?

Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).

Which annual return does FOR THE FISHES file?

Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.

When is the next return of FOR THE FISHES due?

The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending December 31, 2025) is due May 15, 2026. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.

When did FOR THE FISHES last file with the IRS?

The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990-EZ for the year ended December 2024.

Who is the principal officer of FOR THE FISHES?

The 990-N for 2016 names Lynn Allen.

Who are the officers and directors of FOR THE FISHES?

The 990-EZ for the year ended December 31, 2024 lists 7 people; 1 received compensation from the organization, the highest $48,000 (RENE UMBERGER, EXECUTIVE DI).

How much revenue does FOR THE FISHES have?

On its 990-EZ for the year ended December 31, 2024 it reported revenue of $133,197, expenses of $102,837 and total assets of $222,767 at year end.

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