This book provides an overview of nine coastal and fisheries co-management case studies in South Africa. The approach reflects the worldwide trend to implement models which involve local user groups or communities in the management of coastal and fisheries resources. The book outlines the concepts and theoretical underpinnings of co-management and examines the policy and legal framework governing coastal and fisheries resource management in southern Africa.

It examines the conditions needed to ensure successful co-management, the positive outcomes of adopting this approach, the principal challenges, comparisons with international experience and the viability for South Africa.