The shared responsibility for, and involvement in, the management of local natural resources, between two sets of actors, the community on the micro-level and the State (represented by and often mediated through the regional administration) on the macro-level. Participation in co-management arrangements is based upon comparative advantages and shared interests. The State will, as a rule, retain overall decision-making authority.; A partnership arrangement in which government, the community of local resource users (fishers), external agents (non-governmental organizations, research institutions), and sometimes other fisheries and coastal resource stakeholders (boat owners, fish traders, credit agencies or money lenders, tourism industry, etc.) share the responsibility and authority for decision-making over the management of a fishery.