Fisheries management in Malawi has evolved from a traditional system to a centralized regime, followed by the recently introduced co-management fisheries systems. During colonial rule, and through later regimes, a centralized managed system was in place. As in many other countries, these centralized regimes experienced a number of difficulties. These centralized regimes often obliterated traditional leadership values in favour of state authority. The decline of fish catches led to the implementation of a new fisheries management strategy by the Department of Fisheries (DOF), carried out with assistance from the Federal Republic of Germany, through the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The strategy included a decentralized, participatory management approach to replace the centralized management style, which had failed to enforce regulations, in particular the increased use of destructive fishing gear like shore and open water seine nets, often operated with mosquito netting. The decentralization of decision-making to the fisherfolk in Malawi coincided with the shift in Malawi’s politics in 1994 from an autocratic one-party state to a multiparty democracy. In the same year, the pilot measures of a community- based fisheries management program were implemented through a project known today as the National Aquatic Resource Management Programme (NARMAP). This is discussed in the paper.