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Artisanal fisheries are of great importance in Brazil, as they are responsible for more than 50% of national fish production. This importance, associated with the necessity of conserving marine environments threatened by multiple competing uses, leads us to propose mechanisms for co-management of fisheries by users and public authorities. This proposal takes into account: a) local conflicts between artisanal and industrial fishers; b) local rules overthe use of fishing areas established by artisanal fishers; c) the advent of protectedareas that close ac-cess to some fishing areas used by artisanal fisheries; and d) co-management options being explored betweengovernment and fishers. This study suggests policy and technical alternatives under consideration to managethe artisanal fisheries of southeastern Brazil with a focus on Ilha Grande bay in Rio de Janeiro. In our casestudy, based on field research conducted in 2009, we show that artisanal fishers are squeezed into a marinespace between protected areas and industrial fishing. We suggest that a combination of fishing agreements(FAs),based on experience in Amazonian fisheries and extractive reserves,and payment for environmental ser-vices(PES),based onforest and related ate rresource experience,could improve management and livelihoods for local artisanal fisheries by stimulatin gandre warding fsher swho participate in conservation efforts.The two instruments (FAs and PES) are the subject of considerable research and practical experience.Their integration in an instrument mix represents a contribution from transdisciplinary fields of human ecology and ecological economics.