Issues and complexities arising when the fisheries and marine tourism sectors have stakes in an institution governing the coral reefs ecosystem called awig-awig are discussed, awig-awig is a collaquialism meaning ‘ a local rule’. The community-based management system is commonly recognized as a better approach to governing resources, however, the success of awig-awig in the study area is questionable. Awig-awig fails to deal with the conflict of interest among stakeholders in coastal resource appropriation, despite the community being relatively culturally homogenous.