Creating mechanisms that enable decision-making with key stakeholders involved such as participatory committees with strong Government engagement is critical to enabling marine wildlife issues to be tabled during management and policy decision-making. MarAlliance holds a seat on a range of national committees for sites and species including founding three National Shark Advisory Committees. We are a member of both the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and an official observer to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). Yet we find that pulling decision-makers away from their meetings and desks to join us in the field effectively ensures that much needed conversations take place, notably with fishers and other partners who often have limited access to higher-level decision-makers. We have hosted several such field-based meetings to catalyze cross-border conversations and greater conservation measures for large marine wildlife.