In the present paper, community-based fishery management of the stake-seine fishery of Negombo estuary, Sri Lanka, is described with a view to identifying property right regimes in the fishery. In the Negombo estuary or Sri Lanka, there is an artisanal fishery for penaeid shrimp locally known as stake-seine fishery. Stake-seine nets, which can be fixed in specific sites close to the sea mouth, are used for catching shrimp that migrate from the estuary to the sea. According to regulations imposed by the fishing communities, use-rights in the fishery are granted to descendants of certain fishing families in four villages. Among the stake-seine fishers who are organized into four rural societies, an effective mechanism has been evolved for resource sharing in the fishery over a period or several hundred years. For equity sharing of the resource, different fishing dates are assigned to the four rural societies, and fishing sites are allocated to individual fishers in each society using a lottery system. Sustenance of this traditional practice is due to the fact that the returns from the fishery are significant. High shrimp yields can be considered as one of the major outcomes of resource sharing practice in the stake-seine fishery of Negombo estuary because they are directly responsible for the living standards of fishing community. The cost of equity sharing procedure in the fishery is manifested by regular attendance at meetings, compliance with the regulations, etc. The benefits enjoyed by the fishing community, such as good income, cooperation among members, and social welfare, surpass the cost of maintenance of the traditional practice. Also the equity sharing procedure in the fishery which has evolved over a long period and has been reinforced recently by the government regulations, has nullified the disputes among fishers. This is also an indication of the performance of the traditional practice for resource sharing because fair treatment of all members in the community is assured through the system. Community-based management strategies for the fisheries in developing countries can therefore be defined by adopting relevant mechanisms found in these types of artisanal fisheries.