Most research on small-scale fi sheries governance derives from developing countries, limiting our understanding of small-scale fi sheries dynamics within developed nations. This knowledge gap creates disparities between these systems, limiting comparisons of similarities and differences across ranges of socioeconomic development and deriving solutions that can be feasibly applied to small-scale fi sheries governance. Our chapter compares small-scale fi sheries governance systems in the Hawaiian Islands and Baja California Sur, Mexico, using the interactive governance framework. Historically, collective action and self-governance were important in both regions, yet over time, have eroded due to a variety of factors. The current state of small-scale fi sheries in the Hawaiian Islands and Baja California Sur, Mexico is generally characterized by open-access with low governability, but with opportunities to hybridize customary and centralized management systems through co-management. This chapter will provide insight into why this has occurred by drawing on similarities across small-scale fi sheries in developed and developing country contexts, in addition to highlighting divergences occurring