The objective of this article is to present the potential and limits of the co-management of artisanal fisheries in Senegal. The method consisted of carrying out extensive investigation work in the various local artisanal fishing councils (CLPAs) established along the Senegalese coast. The interview guide and questionnaire submitted to fishery stakeholders and CLPA leaders focused on 40 indicators inspired by scientific literature. These indicators are divided into three categories : “governance”, “natural systems” and “populations and livelihoods”. They cover all dimensions of co-management as implemented in Senegal. The analysis reveals that the CLPAs struggle to fully assume the leadership role assigned to them by the State and their social base. Given their financial dependence on the State and development partners, they have little capacity for influence and limited socio-political positioning. This weak self-assertion at the local level is also linked to the fragility of their organizational base, which ultimately compromises their economic and ecological performance. The local governance framework is characterized by the superposition of several local entities (economic interest groups [EIG] and associations) that lack any coordination and operate in a logic of competition. Despite these limitations, which are mainly organizational and economic in nature, the co-management of artisanal fishing has potential. Beyond positioning themselves as a new local framework for fishery management, the CLPAs have started restructuring the local institutional architecture and offer spaces where to build initiatives, both technical (to ensure the sustainability of fishery resources) and socioeconomic (to improve the livelihoods of fishing stakeholders). Overall, the governance of fisheries in Senegal is split into a directive management framework which is gradually crumbling and a new style (co-management) which is slow to take hold.