Decommissioning schemes have been demonstrated to be a useful policy tool in certain circumstances. They can accelerate the transition to a rationalised fishery managed on the basis of stronger use and access rights and improved ecosystem health. As part of a package of transitional assistance and management changes, they can provide a window of opportunity to help transform the nature of a fishery from one characterised by non-cooperative behaviour to one in which incentives are well-aligned and cooperation is the rational outcome of interactions between fishers. In effect, decommissioning schemes can serve as “shock therapy” to help fisheries adjust.