Kiribati underwent dramatic changes in laws governing access to intertidal resources as a result of colonial intrusion. In recent years, the impact of population growth, urbanization, more efficient extractive technologies, and expanding market opportunities have prompted island councils to adopt by-laws to protect existing resources. However, there remains the challenge of enforcing territorial rights. Several approaches that might lead to a viable tenurial system include alternative short-term gains, cooperative ventures, and the judicious application of TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) as an instrument for resource management. The first two are seen as preconditions for the success of the third because of the insights they provide within the context of behavioral ecology. This theoretical approach and associated models caution us from essentializing the environmental outcomes of human behavior by showing the lack of a resource conservation strategy. These aforementioned solutions for ensuring sustainable development of the intertidal zone are discussed based on fieldwork among several atoll communities in Western Kiribati with a focus on shellfish gathering.