Approaches to conservation and fisheries management often promoted at a global level have had little impact in the South Pacific such as in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu, due to the special situation of these island nations. Community-based management of marine resources based on traditional and modern knowledge and developed at a local level seems to be the way forward. Fijian communities have arguably shown the most impressive progress supported by a national network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and government organizations supporting ‘locally managed marine areas’ or LMMA. Samoa has shown the strongest government investment (supported by Australian aid) in community-based fisheries management. By the late 1990s, this had resulted in a national network of dozens of village fisheries management areas. Communities in Vanuatu have preserved traditional management in the form of ‘tabu’ areas, and in others this tradition has been revived with the support of fisheries officers, other government organisations and NGOs. About 80 villages are reported to be actively managing their marine resources in this manner. The situation is similar although perhaps less advanced in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, with community, NGO and government partnerships resulting in dozens more areas actively managed by communities. The close relationship that Pacific Island peoples have developed with the ocean over millennia is a key part of the region’s rich culture. Despite the erosion of both cultural and natural resources in recent decades, the capacity and knowledge of coastal communities appear to provide the fundamental pillar for achieving sustainable livelihoods from the sea. Partnerships between communities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and governments are an important mechanism but it is essential that the aspirations of communities are treated as the main driving force for this type of management and that their legal or de facto rights over resources are respected.