The farming systems research and extension (FSR/E) methodology is appropriate for identifying management strategies for artisanal fisheries in riverine systems, according to this paper. The paper first stresses the importance of inland fisheries as a source of food and income in the developing world, and then discusses maximum sustained yield, maximum economic yield, and optimum sustained yield (OSY) as fishery management concepts, suggesting that FSR/E may provide a model for attaining OSY, a concept which incorporates sociological as well as biological and economic objectives. FSR/E's holistic approach recognizes the interdependence between the natural and human environments and aims to utilize limited resources within the range of private and societal goals. To illustrate how the FSR/E approach is appropriate, the report: (1) derives from the Niger River production and marketing system a conceptual model addressing the biological, economic, household, and market variables of a riverine system; and (2) provides a description of Mail's Niger River fisheries, focusing on aspects of the established traditional management system, e.g., fishing groups, property rights in the fishing zones, reserve zones, and the collective fishing season.