RT Journal Article T1 Analysing the epistemic consensus of fisheries co-management systems as a formula for democratic innovation and open government A1 Seijo Villamizar, Javier A1 García Allut, Antonio K1 Co-management K1 Comanagement K1 Democratic governance K1 Democratic innovation K1 Fisheries K1 Transformative change K1 Social change AB This research conducts a bibliometric analysis of the term “co-management” in scientific studies published between 1969 and 2021, indexed in the Scopus database. It identifies epistemic consensus, encompassing highly cited works, communities of practice (countries, researchers, and institutions), and theoretical foundations (exemplary narratives and the top ten narratives that explicitly reference the term at the title semantic level).The mixed-methods approach employed a semi systematic algorithm and analyzed 1078 references, demonstrating a significant connection between co-management and its institutionalization in the governance of common goods. The findings highlight its expansion to nearly 100 countries, high interdisciplinarity, epistemological advancements in fisheries co-management cases, and the role of Marine Policy journal as the leading platform for disseminating studies with explicit titles on co-management. Normative attributes (learning processes), epistemic frameworks (interconnected thematic lines), and key authors are analysed, positioning co-management as an interdisciplinary tool for cultural adaptation, collaborative decision-making, open government, co-governance and democratic governance and innovation. As an example of an ideal type among other cases, the term's development is illustrated through the institutionalized co-management system implemented by the fishing community of Lira, 'Os Miñarzos,' in Galicia (NW Spain). Ultimately, this work offers an interpretative model for public decision-makers, researchers, stakeholders, disseminators. Its approach provides a path for the informed analysis of research topics, the systematisation of key information with which to improve decision-making processes and the dissemination of the current state of scientific knowledge. PB Elsevier SN 0308-597X YR 2025 FD 2025-02-26 LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43844 UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43844 LA eng NO Villamizar, J. S., & García-Allut, A. (2025). Analysing the epistemic consensus of fisheries co-management systems as a formula for democratic innovation and open government. Marine Policy, 176, 106651. 10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106651 NO This work was funded by the Xunta de Galicia - Grupo de Referencia Competitiva GI-2060 AEMI, under Grant ED431C2019/11. EqualSeaLab (CRETUS-USC). Centro CRIA-Centro Em Rede De Investigaçâo Em Antropología, Lisboa. DS Minerva RD 29 abr 2026