Actions of low income communities that depend on natural resources for their daily livelihoods indicate that they are more caring and concerned about the nurturing of common resources found in nature. In this paper, the way rights over natural resources have changed from community rights to open access (Part 1) and from open access to community rights (Part 2), are discussed. The author points out that coastal communities and fisherfolk should certainly be active participants in designing their own future since they generally have a much clearer conception of the important constraints under which they operate as well as a more holistic understanding of the opportunities before them, Where, however a tradition for collective action is lacking, or the political space for it is limited, mobilization of communities for participatory planning and action may prove to be a long process. Restoring community rights does not necessarily lead to proper management for several reasons. Reviving ecologically sophisticated fishing technologies is a prerequisite for reviving the prospective of living resources of the seas as natural assets.