This handbook is a field guide to community based management focused on fisheries, such as those of the Northwest Atlantic, that are already highly regulated by governmental authorities, with licencing and other requirements that limit access and effort. The handbook is an introduction to the range of ideas and management activities that form part of community-based fisheries management. It is meant to provide a “how to” guide for local fishery managers and management bodies – a guide in which the specific management tasks are related back to the underlying values and principles of community-based management. The handbook is divided into three major parts. The first part provides an introduction to the general ideas behind community based fisheries management. The second part is divided into ten chapters, each covering a key community based fishery management activity. The third part explores three key underlying themes that have reocurred throughout the handbook and that underlie many of the issues and decisions community based fisheries managers struggle with regularly.