This policy briefs addresses some of the issues and options available in managing all fisheries, including small-scaleones. The argument is that recent lessons point to potential benefits in some fisheries from management partnerships between the government and local fishers and communities-fisheries co-management. However, thispolicy brief cautions that co-management is not a universal panacea and more experience and research are needed to learn about the conditions leading to succesful fisheries co-management.