Degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems threatens the livelihoods of over 113 million people in artisanal fisher and aquaculture farming communities around the world. Restoring the productivity of these ecosystems is a grand challenge requiring multi-disciplinary collaborations across social, economic, scientific and governance domains. How are artisanal communities engaging or being engaged in this process? What can be gleaned from their experiences? In particular what are the notable gains in ecological processes that local communities have produced and how? This talk explores approaches taken by fisherfolk communities in south and southeast Asia, the outcomes and the challenges faced. I compare case studies of community's work across a spectrum of coastal, inshore and offshore ecosystems, and from both long term (>20 years) and short term (<5 year) situations. Small-scale fisher and aquaculture farming communities can lead the way in restoring ecosystem productivity given appropriate, authentic and collaborative support from their partners.