On 21 June 2000, La Paz, Mexico, was the venue for a symposium entitled The Importance of Spawning Aggregations in the Lives of Reef Fishes. The symposium, as part of the annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, drew experts from around the world's oceans. It was the first opportunity in many years for scientists working on aggregations to gather and share their knowledge and experience and jointly identify impacts on aggregations noted around the tropics.

This gathering was the catalyst for the establishment of a formal partnership, The Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations, the aim of which is to raise awareness and develop initiatives to better manage reef fish spawning aggregations as valuable and irreplaceable resources.