Naalakkersuisut wishes to create better conditions for the captive industry, and work is being done to optimize the utilization of the living resources. But consideration must be given to sustainable utilization and international agreements.
This is what Peter Borg, Demokraatit, who is Naalakkersuisoq for Fisheries, Catching, Agriculture and Self-Sufficiency, writes in a reply note to Mette Arqe-Hammeken, Naleraq, who is a member of Inatsisartut, who, according to section 37 questions, wants to get an answer to the current prisoner situation.
Naalakkersuisut wishes to create better conditions for the captive industry, and work is being done to optimize the utilization of the living resources. But consideration must be given to sustainable utilization and international agreements.
This is what Peter Borg, Demokraatit, who is Naalakkersuisoq for Fisheries, Catching, Agriculture and Self-Sufficiency, writes in a reply note to Mette Arqe-Hammeken, Naleraq, who is a member of Inatsisartut, who, according to section 37 questions, wants to get an answer to the current prisoner situation.
The Inatsisartut member, who comes from Ittoqqortoormiit, is already in the process of preparing several questions that she wants to have elaborated in the coming time.
Consideration of agreements
According to the information from Peter Borg, there were 2,080 people with paid occupational prisoner certificates in Greenland in 2025. But it is not yet known how many occupational prisoner certificates there are this year, as the application process is still ongoing.
He states that Naalakkersuisut works to optimize the utilization of the living resources with regard to the long-term conservation of the resources in accordance with the Inatsisartutlov on trapping and hunting and international agreements and conventions.
– The aim is to ensure an appropriate and biologically sound use of the catch resources.
– An important prerequisite for ensuring the conservation and reproduction of the catch resources is to gather knowledge about the well-being and reproduction of the species and manage them based on this knowledge.
– If the exploitation of a species or a stock exceeds the stock’s reproduction, there may be a need to introduce quotas on the species so that the exploitation becomes sustainable, says Naalakkersuisoq for Fangst.
Quotas are set based on biological advice, public consultation processes and Naalakkersuisut’s policy on the possibility of meat supply in certain areas. The reply note also states that quotas are sometimes set, even if there is no biological advice, as is the case with narwhals in East Greenland.
Agreements and strict regulations
In the reply memo to Mette Arqe-Hammeken, it is described, among other things, that Greenland is covered by Denmark’s membership of the United Nations (UN) and, as a member of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 65 is obliged to sustainable exploitation, research and joint management of, among other things, marine mammals.
Greenland is also a member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which prohibits the commercial sale of products from large whales and which sets annual quotas for catching these.
Greenland is also a member of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO), which provides biological advice on seals, walruses, small and large whales.
In addition, Greenland shares several quota species with neighboring countries where there are joint management agreements such as the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which is a bilateral agreement with Canada / Nunavut on the joint management of beluga and narwhal whales in Baffin Bay, as well as the Commission of Narwhal and Beluga JCNB). Under the UN umbrella, Greenland is also a member of the Washington Convention (CITES), where Greenland is obliged to follow the convention’s provisions on international trade and transport of endangered animal and plant species.
Peter Borg states that Greenland’s Nature Institute functions as a scientific CITES authority in Greenland, where, among other things, it is assessed whether sustainability declarations (Non Detriment Finding, NDF) can be issued, which is a prerequisite for granting export permits for species covered by CITES. If a species cannot meet the requirements in the sustainability declarations, Greenland is therefore obliged to introduce a temporary export stop for the species in question.
– Since Greenland is a member of CITES via Denmark, Greenland is thus also subject to very strict provisions for the reopening of export bans. However, a limited shipment of minke whales from West Greenland to Greenlanders residing in Denmark can take place when the conditions are met.
– The possibilities of obtaining export income from species threatened with extinction therefore depend on whether the catch of the species is judged to be sustainable and whether there are any import restrictions in the recipient country, says Peter Borg.
Biodiversity strategy
The first biodiversity strategy in Greenland, which among other things aims to protect biodiversity through relevant legislation and sustainable management, was adopted in 2021.
Peter Borg writes that all countries are obliged to prepare a national biodiversity strategy according to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) under the United Nations (UN).
Best frames
Mette Arqe-Hammeken also wants to know what plans Naalakkersuisut has to create schemes that can give trappers better income opportunities from the sale of polar bear skins and narwhal teeth.
Peter Borg emphasizes that a sustainability assessment of narwhals cannot be achieved, which is why Greenland is obliged to temporarily stop exports of the species.
– Last year there was a new sustainability assessment for polar bears, and in this connection Naalakkersuisut will work to ensure that polar bear skins, teeth and claws can once again be exported.
– It is Naalakkersuisut’s task to create the best framework for trappers to get a financial gain from polar bear skins, says Peter Borg.
However, there are a number of conditions, including controls, that must be put in place before this can be started, the response note states.
Initiatives
Naalakkersuisut has started a number of initiatives on the development of fishing and catching in various places, for example in East Greenland, where Royal Greenland opened a fish factory, which primarily receives cod and halibut, in Tasiilaq in August 2024.
The Department of Fisheries and Hunting, Agriculture and Self-Sufficiency has also provided funds for a closer study of polar bears in Southeast Greenland and South Greenland.
Re-establishment support
Commercial fishermen, commercial trappers and agricultural growers have the opportunity to apply for re-establishment support from Naalakkersuisut if their earning potential is limited due to climatic obstacles.
According to Emanuel Rosing, who is head of department in the Department of Fisheries and Fishing in the Self-Government, in 2025 501 applications were received for either re-establishment support or subsidies related to climate change. Of these, 118 applicants were accepted. 44 fishermen and trappers received re-establishment support, while 74 were promised support as a result of climate change. The total grant of DKK 3.1 million for 2025 has thus been fully utilized.
Mette Arqe-Hammeken says that she is satisfied with the reply note from Naalakkersuisoq for Fisheries, Catching, Agriculture and Self-Sufficiency, which has given her greater insight into the current situation of prisoners, which she believes is under pressure on several fronts. But according to her, this has also given rise to the question of why she is now in the process of preparing a new section 37 question on the subject.
