The Indonesian government has committed to increasing their marine protected areas to 20 million hectares by 2020. Management of some marine protected areas in Indonesia follow a cooperative management (co-management) model. In the co-management model, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and local community members are all involved in the management of the marine protected area (MPA). Process tracing method was used to illustrate the relationship between co-management, participation, and compliance. Subsequently, the congruence method assessed the congruity between co-management and compliance. The purpose is to refine the co-management theory and test if participation in co-management has produced the promises of compliance. This research uses Karimunjawa’s local community’s perception to assess compliance and enforcement in Karimunjawa National Park (KNP). Using perception as an evidence based research tool, the research aim is to assess Karimunjawa’s local community’s support and potential success of Karimunjawa National Park’s long term marine protected area goals. Archival research revealed only 112 out of a potential 9000 community members were involved in the KNP rezoning process. Majority of the respondents did not know anyone directly involved in the management rezoning in 2012. Also, many believe that education and awareness of MPA goals were the reason why non-compliance occurs. The significance of the findings indicates a lack of participation from the community in this co-managed MPA. By using a mixed method and interdisciplinary approach, this research will produce a more holistic perspective of co-management in KNP.