The sharing of management responsibility and authority between local communities and government over fisheries resources can play a major role in their improvement. The Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (RFLP) funded by Spain and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has sought to establish mechanisms and build capacity for co-management in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, TimorLeste and Viet Nam. This paper highlights some of the lessons learned, risks and recommendations RFLP has learned through this process.