For a long time, the Tanzanian Fisheries Department has managed Tanzanian fisheries without incorporating other stakeholders within its management framework. On Lake Victoria, the persistent use of illegal fishing gear and other fishing malpractices have led the government to realise that the traditional ‘command and control’ system of fisheries management may no longer be viable. Conflicts amongst resource users and declining catches have also contributed towards the realisation that changes to managerial attitudes and policy strategies are needed within the sector. One option to consider is the inclusion of fishing communities in the management of the lake’s resources. One possible vehicle for achieving this is through ‘co-management’, which, in part, involves giving responsibility and authority to local communities to manage their own resources. It is more a flexible means of management whereby communities tend to adjust and mature to changing situations, and allows these to be taken aboard for management consideration, enabling alternatives to be incorporated. It is a management system involving partnership between the state and communities, and hence will create legitimacy and respect between the stakeholders involved. This paper sets out to consider some of these co-managerial concepts, drawing on the results of a survey carried out on the Tanzanian shores of Lake Victoria in mid-1999. 334 fishers, 6 factory owners and 7 Fisheries Department officials were interviewed. The analysis that follows uses accepted research criteria to examine the basis for the evolution and persistence of community-level managerial institutions within this fishery. In addition, the research explores ways in which co-management might be applied to Tanzania’s Lake Victoria fishery.