In Chile, a Territorial User Rights for Fisheries system was developed to manage benthis fisheries.  This system is referred to as Management Areas for the Eploitation of Benthic Resources.  Management areas involved a shift from top-down control by governments to comanagement.  We have analysed the effects of a higly variable fishery, characterised by boom-and-bust cycles, on the governance of local institutions designed for resource management.