Analysis of the problems involved in the use of common property in fisheries has frequently been subsumed under the rubric 'tragedy of the commons'. In the English-language literature dealing with this topic little consideration has been given to the exploitation of fish stocks in countries with command economies. In such countries, the state not only acts as a central authority regulating the use of the commons, but is also the owner of the means of production. The socialist state thus possesses powers which should, theoretically, enable it to avoid the biological overfishing and even extinction of stocks that have been frequent occurrences in the fisheries of many countries with capitalist economies. An evaluation of the exploitation of shrimp stocks on the Cuban insular shelf since the revolution of 1959 reveals a mixed record of successes and failures. Stocks have been subject to overfishing, but the state has been able to employ its powers to address at least some of the associated problems. However, the current economic situation in the country makes it more difficult to deal with the impacts on shrimp stocks of habitat degradation resulting from pollution in near-coastal waters, water diversion, and development in the coastal zone.
