Debate Over Culling Greenland Sharks in Avannaata

The Avannaata municipal council approved a bounty to kill 1,000 Greenland sharks, offering 300 krone for each heart. Mayor Lars Erik Gabrielsen argued the measure was needed to protect fishermen’s income and the long-standing halibut and cod catches that sustain the region’s 400-person fishing community. The plan was later withdrawn after the Greenlandic government questioned its legality, though officials acknowledge that a future cull remains under discussion.

The Guardian

Fisherman Henrik Jensen, who has worked halibut longlines near Ilulissat for a decade, reports losing roughly 6,000 hooks in a single season and incurring daily losses of up to 30,000 Danish krone when sharks cut his gear. A single longline now costs 1,599 krone, and repeated gear damage forces many to reduce hook deployment, contributing to declining halibut sizes despite rising market prices. Jensen also notes an increase in “ghost lines”—abandoned gear that entangles new lines and further damages equipment.

The Guardian

Scientists stress that Greenland sharks mature sexually at about 150 years, making population recovery from any large-scale removal extremely slow. The marine-conservation group Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat (ONKN) highlighted the sharks’ migratory capacity—individuals can travel up to 1,200 miles a year—meaning removed sharks would likely be replaced quickly from other regions.

The Guardian

ONKN director Jenseeraq Poulsen proposes a gear-loss compensation scheme and funded trials of acoustic deterrents as less harmful ways to reduce bycatch. Rebekka Nygård Bak, an adviser to Greenland’s Ministry of Fisheries, suggests new regulations for bycatch-friendly equipment and a campaign to improve bycatch reporting. Halibut Greenland, a local processing cooperative, already funds ghost-gear clean-up, an effort ONKN views as more effective than culling.

The Guardian

• “This year I’ve lost around 6,000 hooks in total. Sometimes we lose 30,000 Danish krone [£3,440] a day,” — Jensen. The Greenland, an adviser

The Guardian

• “We need to safeguard the income of fishermen and the catch so that we can continue to eat the foods that we have relied on for generations.” — Lars Erik Gabrielsen, mayor of the municipality

The Guardian

• “Sharks removed in north-west Greenland would quickly be replaced by individuals arriving from other regions,” — ONKN, the director

The Guardian

• “If somebody says, ‘I’m going to cull a couple of thousand Greenland sharks’, that’s a disaster in my opinion,” — Prof Nick Dulvy, a marine conservationist at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia

The Guardian

• “They are probably – biologically – the most sensitive species in the ocean to overfishing,” — Prof Nick Dulvy, a marine conservationist at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia

The Guardian