Fisheries in Greenland

The waters of Greenland are some of the coldest and clearest in the world and they are the habitat of some of the most famous seafood from Royal Greenland.

Greenland is a fishing nation and the skills of the fishermen are past down from father to son. Though Greenland is turning into a modern society, fishing is the all-dominating trade in Greenland. The industry accounts for 95% of the total exports and forms the stable existence for one fifth of the Greenlandic population.

Two types of fisheries

Fishing in Greenland is divided into two types; near coast fishing and offshore fishing. The near cost fishing is typically small and semi big boats and is usually handled by local fishermen. The offshore fisheries are typically larger trawlers where at least 25% of the catch has to be landed in Greenland for processing.

Respecting quotas

Quotas determine the level of most fisheries in Royal Greenland. We, of course, comply with the quotas and, furthermore, we monitor stock levels and advice the Greenlandic Government on setting these standards. Coldwater prawns, halibut and snow crab are just some of the species which are regulated by quotas.

International fishery agreements

Greenland has entered into several fishery agreements. The agreements allow other nations to fish in Greenlandic waters, give mutual clearance to each other’s fishery zones or give mutual clearance to fish a certain species in each other’s fishery zones. The most famous agreement is the one between Greenland and the European Union which gives Greenland toll free access to the European market in exchange of rights to a certain amount of fishing quotas in Greenland waters.

International fishery relations

As a part of the Danish Kingdom, Greenland participates actively in several international forums for fisheries. Among these are NAFMC, NAFO, NEAFC, NASCO and ICES.