One of MERI's major priorities is to direct public attention and policy to the changes urgently needed in ocean resource management. Ultimately these changes must take place at the global level and will involve policy agreements between developing and developed nations. International ocean conservation organizations play a key role by providing research-based information to policymakers. In 1995, MERI was granted consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This action clearly establishes MERI as an international body and provides the basis for carrying out a broader array of activities related to its mission. MERI addresses three of the five areas of concentration to be implemented under the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation, Management, and Utilization of Marine Mammals adopted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in 1991:

(1) improvement of scientific knowledge,
(2) promotion of regulatory and protective measures, and
(3) enhancement of public understanding of the problem of organochlorine contamination of marine life.