For two decades the idea of governments and fishers working together to manage fisheries has been advocated, questioned, disparaged and, most importantly, attempted in fisheries from North and South America through Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Co-management — the way forward.- Section One The fisheries co-management idea.- 1 The community development tradition and fisheries co-management.- 2 Science and the user perspective: The gap co-management must address.- 3 The economics of co-management.- 4 Toward specificity in complexity: Understanding co-management from a social science perspective.- Section Two Experiences with fisheries co-management.- 5 Experiences with fisheries co-management in Africa.- 6 Experiences with fisheries co-management in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh.- 7 Experiences with fisheries co-management in Europe.- 8 Experiences with fisheries co-management in Latin America and the Caribbean.- 9 Experiences with fisheries co-management in North America.- 10 Experiences with fisheries co-management in Australia and New Zealand.- Section Three Multiple stakeholders in fisheries co-management.- 11 Conflict and scale: A defence of community approaches in fisheries management.- 12 Co-management and marine reserves in fishery management.- 13 Co-management and recreational fishing.- 14 The government as a partner in co-management.- Section Four Edge issues in fisheries co-management.- 15 Fisheries co-management and the knowledge base for management decisions.- 16 Representation in fisheries co-management.- 17 The place of civil society in fisheries management: A research agenda for fisheries co-management.- Conclusion.- The future of fisheries co-management.

From the reviews: "The strength of The Fisheries Co-management Experience lies in its ability to demonstrate the breadth and hope of co-management as an alternative to hierarchical governance that exludes local knowledge." "This is an extraordinary challenge for a scholarly text and kudos goes to the editors for putting forth the effort."(Policy Sciences 37, 2004) "Editors Wilson, Nielson and Degnbol have organized The Fisheries Co-management Experience from a broad outline of topics related to fisheries co-management. … The strength of The Fisheries Co-management Experience lies in its ability to demonstrate the breadth and hope of co-management as an alternative to hierarchical governance that excludes local knowledge. … kudos goes to the editors for putting forth the effort." (Karl A. Wunderlich, Policy Sciences, Issue 37, 2004)