The use of traditional knowledge can be a powerful conservation tool, providing community support for conservation plans and enabling the inclusion of customary ecological management practices in their design. This study documents three experiences in Central America where traditional knowledge has been used to improve marine spatial planning and frame a new policy oriented towards human rights approaches to fisheries and has given better tools for the governance of community managed protected areas. With the support of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), CoopeSoliDar R.L. selected the case studies (two in Costa Rica, one in Honduras) based on processes that allowed observation of the contribution of traditional knowledge in the generation of information for coming up with a policy for the sustainable use of fishing resources and management practices geared towards marine conservation.