Emerging research for the effective co-management of small-scale fisheries
Small-scale fisheries account for 40% of global fish catch, employ 90% of the world's fishers, and play a pivotal role in food security, poverty reduction, and sustainable resource utilisation for a substantial portion of humanity. Fisheries co-management is now widely considered to be the most appropriate, fair, and effective form of governance for small-scale fisheries. While fisheries co-management will continue to grow, its implementation does not guarantee positive impacts for food security, nutrition, livelihoods, or biodiversity. This article explores the question ‘ what makes fisheries co-management succeed or fail?’ by synthesising emerging research, the outcomes of which, if adopted, would substantially improve the potential for positive impacts of fisheries co-management systems across ecological and social dimensions. We synthesise 20 key concepts across four thematic areas: i) Ethics, laws, and principles, ii) Fisheries management, iii) Social structures, and iv) Managing for impact. It is envisioned that the successful adoption of these concepts into co-management regimes will help transform small-scale fisheries into engines of prosperity, inclusion, and sustainability.
Authors
- Sangeeta Mangubhai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4728-4421)
- Hugo B. Harrison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8831-0086)
- Patrick Smallhorn‐West (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6782-3704)
- Hoyt Peckham
- Sushil Raj
- Stefan Gelcich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5976-9311)
- Delvene Boso
- Alexander Tilley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6363-0945)
- Rene A. Abesamis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7456-1415)
- Stacy D. Jupiter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9742-1677)
- Sarah Lawless (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9784-9857)
- Jada Tullos
- Nicholas Ford‐Learner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2238-5660)
- Hadayet Ullah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3034-8089)
- Joshua Cinner
- Morena Mills
- Cristina Ruano-Chamorro
- Philippa J. Cohen
- Geoffrey P. Jones
- William N.S. Arlidge
- Jacqueline Lau
- David J. Mills
- Firoz Khan
Institutions
- Southwest University of Visual Arts (US)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Wildlife Conservation Society (US)
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL)
- Blue Ventures (GB)
- University of South Asia (BD)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
- Centre for Marine Socioecology (AU)
- University of the South Pacific (FJ)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- WorldFish (MY)
- James Cook University (AU)
- University of the Philippines Diliman (PH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Ocean & Coastal Management
- Published
- 2026-09-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2026.108344
- Primary Topic
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00