Through participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, and other on-site investigations, it was found that the retired fishermen in Hongze Lake are facing a series of vulnerability difficulties, including difficulties in employment, inadequate social security, and broken social networks. Based on the theoretical framework of sustainable livelihoods, four governance paths are proposed, including promoting fishermen’s employment through multiple channels, establishing a sound precise assistance mechanism, changing fishermen’s ideological concepts, and transforming fishery tourism into an ecological transformation, so as to encourage fishermen to form a development community that coexists and benefits with the water ecosystem on the basis of achieving sustainable livelihoods.