In this paper the author argues that community-based co-management of wild-capture fisheries has considerable potential for contributing to the improvement of biodiversity conservation in PAs, relations between PA staff and local people, and even the management of forest and terrestrial wildlife resources. He uses the example of Lao PDR. The co-management of natural resources by villagers is government policy in Laos, and there is considerable support for creating cooperative management systems with regards to natural resources, including aquatic resources. The co-management of aquatic resources, including fisheries, has apparently succeeded in increasing fish stocks, and villager fish catches, in Khong District, Champasak Province, southern Laos. Although scientific evidence to support villager claims that aquatic resources have significantly benefited from their co-management efforts is still largely lacking, villagers from some communities with aquatic resource co-management systems, such as Kokpadek and Chan villages, have reported that increased fish catches has had unexpected spin-off benefits in terms of terrestrial wildlife and forest management and conservation. The author considers obstacles to the implementation of fisheries co-management in PAs and suggests that that fisheries management issues should be made a priority for PA managers in Lao PDR and Cambodia, and other countries in mainland Southeast Asia.