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alternative to a nature/culture binary. Rather I want to better understand the ways that the

binary is made, unmade and remade in sustainability discourses, and what some of the

consequences are for fishing communities. Putting culture on the sustainability agenda also

opens the way for a deeper inquiry into the cultural dimensions of sustainability itself. In light

of this inquiry, even sustainability projects that carry the work of environmentalism and are

concerned solely with the sustainability of a species have cultural dimensions.

In relation to these continuing areas of concern it is necessary to build towards a

critical theory of sustainability, if it is to remain a defining principle and goal in wider public

and political arenas. Grounded case studies that demonstrate ways environmental and cultural

complexities play out can contribute to this task. For this reason I base my thesis on the two

case studies (tinned tuna and Atlantic bluefin), which both demonstrate the intersection of

environmental, cultural, economic and social realms around issues of sustainability, resource

use and management, food security and cultural heritage. These case studies add to a growing

list of social science fishery case studies, which could contribute to environmental policy

(local, national and transnational), regulation, NGO campaigns, and certification criteria and

processes.

Field of Inquiry

My thesis sits at the intersection of four interdisciplinary scholarly fields. It is firmly placed

within cultural studies and I also draw on scholarly work coming from the fields of

environmental humanities, cultural geography and food studies. These sub-disciplines are

well positioned to face paradoxes posed by an integrated sustainability model, and to address

these dilemmas from within institutional settings that are defined by disciplinary boundaries.

My research was first inspired by much of the scholarly work on food production and

consumption predominantly within the fields of cultural studies, geography and

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