Throughout Southeast Asia, in response to perceived declines in fish populations, concerns for continued resource security, and encroachment from outsiders using illegal fishing gear (e.g. electric shocking), small no-take reserves on rivers have been created by local communities, established by non-governmental organisations or imposed by national governments. These small reserves are effectively the only management action for these intensive-harvest fisheries. In tributaries of the Salween River in north-western Thailand, ecological networks of small riverine reserves continue to grow, particularly among fishery-dependent communities where overharvest is common.