The tragedy of the commodity and the state: a comparative case study of the Atlantic bluefin tuna and Newfoundland cod fishery collapses

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The world’s oceans face total ecological collapse by 2048 if the fishing industries’ extraction is not reined in. At the helm of the ocean crisis have been fisheries management regimes built upon the logic of the tragedy of the commons, which interpret resource depletion as being driven by human self-interest, and then ­propose market-based policy solutions. This comparative case study tests the generalizability of the tragedy of the commodity, a political economic theory of fishery collapse that challenges the tragedy of the commons by applying it to the case of the 1992 Newfoundland cod fishery collapse. A model for incorporating a distinct analysis of state structures, actions, and interests is then proposed.