This edited book is about participation in fisheries governance, which is an issue that has become fashionable during the last decade, partly because of dissatisfaction with the performance of fisheries management systems across the world; partly because of the increasing interest in the notion of ‘governance’ as a substitute for ‘government’ in a variety of policy sectors; and partly because of the growing popularity of the concept of stakeholder participation in all areas of decision-making. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to establish a theoretical framework within which the participatory mode of governance may be best understood. First, I explore the conceptual issues raised by the notion of governance. Second, I analyse and discuss the three main ways in which the notion of governance has been applied to fisheries management — the hierarchical mode; the market mode; and the participatory mode — focusing especially on the four sub-types of the participatory mode: industry self-governance; co-management; community partnership; and environmental stewardship. Third, I discuss the wider implications of the three different modes. Finally, I provide a synopsis of the chapters in the book, showing how they all focus in one way or another on the central imperative of contemporary fisheries governance — how to make greater use of participation in order to improve the quality of decision-making.