Power sharing in fisheries co-management in Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam

Although power sharing is recognized as being central for fisheries co-management, there is limited knowledge about the types of power shared between government and fishers or the exercise of power by fishers. This paper examines the powers that fishers nominally hold and actually exercise in fisheries co-management in Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam. The paper starts with an analysis of the policy context supporting decentralization of powers from governments to fishers in Vietnam, and continues with an examination of three types of power relations: legislative, executive and judicial. It shows that power sharing between government and fishers is intended in the design of fisheries co-management in Tam Giang Lagoon, but in practice fishers are unable to exercise the shared powers due to lack of legal support and the influence of other policies at higher levels of government. This study suggests that policies need to change at the national level to fully support a co-management system and to make fishers' exercise of powers feasible.