Today, CERF is a multidisciplinary federation of members and seven regionally-based Affiliate Societies dedicated to the understanding and wise stewardship of estuaries and coasts worldwide.

CERF addresses the purposes listed above by convening conferences in odd-numbered years (see Meetings); through the more frequent meetings of its Affiliate Societies in their regions; and through regular publication of the scholarly journal Estuaries and Coasts, the management-focused e-newsletter Coastal and Estuarine Science News (CESN), and the CERF's Up quarterly bulletin.

The Federation serves as a source of advice on estuarine and coastal matters by providing policy statements and responding to requests for information from legislative and management organizations.

This wide recognition of the intertwined interest between knowledge of estuarine systems and eutrophication characterizes the task oriented nature of the study of estuaries.

In the Fall of 1969, a special committee was assembled to explore the formation of a new society not dedicated to any particular geographic region in order to accommodate a larger domestic and international membership.