The Grand Banks cod fishery · 1989
The Last Cod
Everyone shares one fishery. What will the other captains do?
- Ages
- 13 to 15
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Shape
- 3 decisions and a defense
Part 1 of 3 in the series Grow or Hold
The situation
For about five centuries, fleets fished Atlantic cod on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. Small boats fished near shore. Large trawlers, some able to freeze their catch and stay out for weeks, fished farther out.
The government set a yearly catch limit. But no one could see how many fish were left, and the estimates partly relied on the fleets' own reports.
In 1989, your teen is one player in a shared fishery: a captain, then a regulator, then a town. Every move depends on what the others do.
The background is real. The decisions are an imagined game set in it, so your teen can practice the same kind of reasoning. What really happened is shown only after your teen writes a defense.
What it builds
Thinking about shared resources: what each player sees, wants and will do next.
Weighing trade-offs
Names what is gained and lost for each option and chooses on purpose.
Judging risk
Names likely and severe risks and how to reduce them.
Making a clear argument
A clear claim, reasons, and an answer to the best counter-argument.
Seeing other sides
Explains how other players see it and predicts their moves.
Subjects it touches: Economics, Science, History. It sits beside your core curriculum; it doesn't replace it.
Try the first decision
A short preview. It has no AI and saves nothing. Want two minutes with the background first? Try a mission free
Decision 1 of 3 · Preview, no AI, nothing saved
You captain a mid-sized trawler. Your hold is nearly full, and the season's catch limit is almost reached. Other boats are still fishing nearby. Your crew depends on this season's pay. Scientists say the stock is uncertain, and fish are getting harder to find.
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