Production from capture fisheries saw rapid, sustained growth from the 1950s through the 1970s, but by 1990s global capture fisheries has become stagnant, warranting a sustainable approach to its exploitation. With capture
fisheries stalling and demand for fish growing, many countries turned towards developing the aquaculture sector to meet the supply gap. Over the decade, the expansion of aquaculture has led to a rapid growth in fish production. However, as aquaculture expands its production, its use of capture fisheries as food for farmed fish will increase, taking count that currently nearly one-third of the world’s wild caught fish is consumed as fish feed. As aquaculture in the developing world continues to exhibit steady growth in production, sustainability of this trend is now open to question given the rapid degradation of the capture fisheries. Establishing community organizations for managing fisheries is a promising means of improving the resource condition, particularly for countries with large inland and seasonal floodplains. However, as the paper outlines, this arrangement should not reduce the role of the government, but emphasizes on delivering net benefits. Also it is necessary to set up legal framework for community based management as to ensure and sustain community participation in fisheries management.