Summary
This paper describes the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) certification of Mexico's community-based red rock lobster fishery, and its role in empowering the fishing cooperatives involved. The researchers argue that co-management by government, fishing cooperatives, and MSC certification has led to positive social and socio-economic improvements, however warn that these benefits are unlikely to be repeated in fisheries that do not share the strong management and community identity present in the red rock lobster fishing cooperatives.