This paper was prepared by Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Ltd., with the support of FAO Development Law Service (LEGN), to serve as a background paper for a workshop on mainstreaming fisheries co-management, held in Cambodia, 9th-12th August 2005. The paper examines the policy and legislative frameworks for co-management in thirteen countries in Asia and the Pacific, and the extent to which these frameworks hinder or support co-management practices.