This case study is about a unique institution called Kadakkody (literally meaning “sea court”) prevalent in Kerala, in Malabar coast of India. Its presence as well as the institutional reinvention it has undergone raises interesting questions like 1) how and.why this institution has survived? 2) what role does it play in resource management? 3) status and validity of regulations endorsed by the Kadakkody and 4) does it offer any policy insights for resource management in tropical waters? The field study was conducted in four coastal villages (Kasargod, Kizhoor, Kodikkulam and Bakkalam). The case study protocol had the following diagnostic themes namely I) description of the constitution of Kadakkody, 11) structure and functions of Kadakkody, 111) its role as a Community Based Institution in marine fisheries management, IV) status and validity of regulations endorsed by the Kadakkody, V) interplay of factors that define its evolution as well as institutionalisation and VI) role of the state and policy implications. The Kadakkody functions more as a court as it has legislative, executive and judiciary roles to play in the Araya and Dheevara communities of Hindu fishermen belonging to Kasargod district of Kerala. The role of Kadakkody as a community based fisheries management institution was examined by collecting the unwritten or noncodified rules/norms evolved by this institution over the years for the management of fisheries resources across the four areas. Only 4 such measures are still practiced of the many that were earlier used. The authors conclude that the persistence of kadakkody depends on a multiplicity of factors and so defies any bureaucratic duplication in its institutionalisation. The role of the State should be to enable political contexts that nurture the genesis and co-evolution of people’s own resource management initiatives and institutions. What is required is the emergence of a new political ethos built on the foundations of ecology and ethics.