Wants New Halibut Quota System in Greenland

The fisher and trapper union KNAPK in Greenland proposes changing the system for halibut fishing in Greenland, according to Sermitsiaq.

The current arrangement is referred to as “Olympic fisheries” in which every dinghy boat fisher with a valid fishing license may fish freely until the entire joint quota is taken, at which point the fisheries are closed. Thus, there is a race for fishermen to catch as much halibut as possible and to do so as early in the year as possible. In some areas, the quota is reached and fisheries shut down as early as in July.

KNAPK suggests hat dinghy boat fishermen with valid fisher licenses should be allocated individual annual quotas, and for these to be caught at each fisherman’s own convenience. In this way, there need not be a halt in the fisheries for dinghy boat fishermen, the organization argues.