Social theory and fisheries co-management

Co-management is a tool of fisheries management that has received much attention in recent years. Although there are great hopes about what it may accomplish, there are also serious doubts, questions and criticisms regarding its general applicability. We believe that many of these concerns are valid ones. However, many of the negative predictions reflect overly narrow perspectives on the role and nature of institutions. Other, no less valid, presuppositions lead to more optimistic hypotheses concerning the outcomes of co-management arrangements. The institutional problems associated with co-management have been analyzed from the perspective of rational choice. We offer another perspective by analyzing these problems from the standpoint of how institutions are embedded in human community.