Sabah and Sarawak comprise East Malaysia, one of Malaysia’s two federal territories. Sabah is surrounded by the South China Sea in the west, Sulu Sea in the northeast and Celebes Sea in the east. Sabah’s fishing zones are divided into coastal (less than 12 nautical miles (n mi) from the shore line) and offshore areas (12 n mi and beyond the EEZ boundary). The EEZ of Sabah is reported to be about 90,000 km2. Being aware of the role of the coastal communities in comanaging the coastal and inland resources in the country, the DOF Malaysia has undertaken initiatives and approaches under an integrated resources management concept in order to achieve sustainable fisheries throughout the country. Specifically, the Tagal System which actually originated as a traditional system of forest stewardship was therefore adapted for the protection, restoration, conservation and management of the freshwater fishery resources of the country and most specifically in Sabah. The implementation of the Tagal System is being promoted by empowering the concerned local communities. “Tagal System”, which literally means “fishing in rivers is prohibited by the concerned communities for a certain pre-agreed period of time” aims to restore the depleting fisheries resources, keep the rivers free from pollution, and generate income to the communities concerned. Under the Tagal System however, concerned communities are still allowed to harvest fish from the rivers but in a sustainable manner. The Tagal System was developed by the Sabah State Government and the Department of Fisheries (DOF) of Sabah upon recognizing the urgent need to address the problems of depleting freshwater fishery resources as indicated in the State’s decreasing production from freshwater fisheries. Although the State did not have adequate fisheries laws for regulating inland fisheries in the past, the State Fisheries Department managed to successfully implement the Community-Based Fishery Resources Management (CBRM) concept which is now locally called the “Tagal System”.