Greenland agrees to stop fishing wild Atlantic salmon

Fishermen in Greenland and the Faroe Islands have agreed to stop the commercial fishing of North Atlantic salmon for 12 years. 

The Greenland Conservation Agreement (GCA) has been signed by the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF), North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF),  and the Association of Fishers and Hunters in Greenland.

The waters off Greenland and the Faroe Islands are where salmon from 2,000 rivers in North America and Europe converge, so this represents a significant development in the quest for conservation of the species. As an example of the salmon migration, ASF president Bill Taylor said between 75 and 80 percent of the salmon caught in Greenland originated in Canada. 

ASF Director of Communications Neville Crabbe said the GCA “essentially removes the last commercial fishery for North American wild Atlantic salmon for a period of 12 years.” 

For the duration of the agreement, fisherman will be paid not to fish salmon. The payments are from the ASF and private donations and don’t involve government assistance.

Crabbe said the GCA is a new agreement, which contains many of the principles of agreements signed in 1993, 1994, and 2002. While the GCA targets the commercial fishery, it allows for a local 20-ton subsistence fishery (equal to approximately 6,000 large salmon) “conducted by licensed private fishermen using a single net. By comparison, commercial license holders have been allowed to set up to 20 nets. These fish from the subsistence harvest may be consumed, gifted, or sold at municipally-owned open-air markets for income. Sales to factories, grocery stores, hotels, and the like will not be permitted,” Crabbe said. 

The GCA includes penalties for overfishing and provides incentives for under-fishing the 20-ton subsistence level. Catch data will be reported annually to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

“Approximately one-third of the funding available under this new agreement will be used to improve monitoring and reporting of the subsistence fishery. Also, Greenland private fishermen will be licensed, which they haven’t been in the past,” Crabbe said. “Perhaps the most important new aspect of this is a commitment from ASF and willingness from the Greenlanders to work together on marine research projects. For example, we intend to be in Greenland this fall to catch and tag adult salmon, following their journey home to either North America or Europe, which is one of the least-understood segments of migration.”

Under the previous agreement that ran from 2002-2011, ASF and NASF funded more than 750 individual projects, many aimed at developing an inshore cod fishery and a lumpfish fishery, Crabbe said. 

“We anticipate there will be similar projects proposed under this deal, but that is ultimately up to Greenland fishermen,” he said. “They will make proposals, including a budget, and approved projects will receive grants from the monies that will flow as a result of this agreement.”

While the GCA is unique - in the sense it is dealing with many local details and a highly migratory wild species – the ASF said it believes the concept of supplanting sustainable fisheries for unsustainable ones “can work in many places.”

“The one precondition is you need stable political environments, like Greenland, where the rule of law is respected and people are true to their word,” Crabbe said.

Photo courtesy of the Atlantic Salmon Federation

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