MASNA is a non-profit organization composed of marine aquarium clubs and individual hobbyists from North America and abroad, totaling several thousand individuals. MASNA's goals are to:

• Educate our members with online and published material, the MACNA conference, and other sanctioned events
• Assist in forming and promoting the growth of clubs within the hobby while ensuring a sustainable future for the marine environment
• Support the efforts to eliminate abuses in collecting and transporting marine organisms through education, assistance and encouragement 
• Encourage the ethical growth of the marine aquarium hobby and support captive breeding/propagation efforts