The socio-economic conditions of villages in Sanasomboun are as important as the nature of the fisheries environment in providing the backdrop against which management takes place. Villages vary in size and accessibility, with the larger and more accessible villages near the Mekong River. These villages tend to have more "open" fisheries and thus be more difficult to manage as exclusive fisheries zones. The less accessible villages are also smaller in size, and are located at some distance from the main riverine fisheries environments. Except for the hill villages, most areas of Sanasomboun are reasonably well endowed with paddy rice land, which is the mainstay of village subsistence economies. Infrastructure varies through the District; many villages are at some distance from the main road, although more than a quarter of the District's villages have direct access to the Mekong River. Electricity connection is highly variable, with a clear gradient from Mekong to Hill villages. This has implications for refrigeration of fish, and more generally for the commercialisation of village economy. Most villages are fairly stable in terms of new in- and out-migrants on a permanent basis, and most population change is still by natural increase. Over the long run, many villagers perceive fisheries decline as due to a larger number of people chasing a limited resource.

A key feature to keep in mind by fisheries managers is that fishing is part of an exceptionally wide resource and livelihood portfolio. Moreover, fishing itself draws on a range of fishery environments, and this diversity is marked by different patterns in different village types. Furthermore, there are slightly different patterns of access and dependence between subsistence and commercial uses of fish. While there is an overwhelming pattern of rice farming as the main work activity, mainly for subsistence, and fishing as the secondary activity, for both subsistence and income supplement, a wide range of alternative occupations are drawn on by many villages - notably horticulture, livestock rearing, trade and paid employment. Weaving and other handicrafts also continue to be significant in many villages. Temporary migration for labouring outside village boundaries is predominant in the more accessible Mekong, and to a lesser extent Sedone, villages. Nevertheless, almost all villages' livelihoods continue to depend on the natural resource base, which remains varied and of which fishing is only a part.

Fish are both sources of dietary protein and of supplementary income. The are variable patterns between waterbodies and between village areas of dependence on fish for subsistence versus cash income. Any extension aimed at livelihood support needs to be devised and targeted carefully to ensure that the primary objective is understood by all parties, for example nutrition within the community or income support, and that measures are taken to maintain equitable access among traditional users.

As with any resource system, what matters to local users is not simply natural abundance or otherwise of the resource in question. Access to the resource is just as significant. In the case of fish, a key issue is the balance between short-term use and maintenance of the resource over a period of time. Certain prohibitions against blatantly destructive practices (for example explosives and stun poisons) exist for the main riverine fisheries, but otherwise these have been quite open systems to date. Access to them is limited largely by relative proximity, access to boats and gear, and fishing skills. Smaller scale fisheries are more clearly defined in terms of access rights, which vary from one system to another, one season to another and often from one village to another.