Greenland attacked over narwhal quotas

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society claims the Greenland Home Rule Government says it’s “gradually reducing” its narwhal hunts, but is setting preliminary quotas for this year that ignore expert advice to immediately reduce over-hunting.

Marine mammal biologists and international management bodies have recommended that Greenland limit its annual narwhal quota to 135, with a ban on all hunting in Melville Bay.

However, a quota of 285 narwhals has been tentatively set for West Greenland in 2006-7, including 100 in Melville Bay.

For the two years in which narwhal quotas have been set, hunts have exceeded catch limits. The total narwhal hunt in 2005 in Greenland was about 360, although this figure is still down from the 666 recorded two years ago.

Last year, over-hunting by narwhal hunters in Uummannaq, Greenland infuriated conservationists and biologists who say the government raised quotas to cover up excessive hunting.

The Nuuk newspaper AG said Greenland’s fisheries department granted an additional quota of 35 narwhal to Uummannaq, although a “serious over-harvest” had already taken place in this northwestern municipality. Over-hunting also occurred in Upernavik.

Journalist Andreas Lindqvist said “first, the biologists recommended a narwhal quota of 135. Then, the home rule government decided to double this quota to 260, and, then, it added on 50 to cover over-hunting in Uummannaq.”

“Although 68 narwhals illegally hunted last year will be deducted from this year’s quota, bringing it down to 217, Greenland cannot legitimately claim that removals are falling; only that quotas are,” says a news release from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Earlier this summer, Greenland admitted its narwhal catch was not sustainable and banned the export of narwhal products as a way of limiting the hunt.

“As the catch is also not deemed sustainable, since it exceeds the recommendations from international advice, it can therefore not be ruled out that exports of narwhal products contribute to harming the Greenlandic population of narwhals,” says the June 16 announcement.

This ban applies to jewelry and art objects made from narwhal tusk. Whole teeth are also covered by the ban.

“Since the ban becomes effective immediately, tourists visiting Greenland this year may no longer repatriate handicraft or other items including narwhal tusk or other parts of the animal,” says the announcement.

However, residents of Greenland are still able to buy narwhal products, and may export narwhal products if they are moving to Denmark. Residents will still be able to bring personal jewelry and possessions made from narwhal ivory from travel abroad.

The ban followed moves by the committee on the trade of endangered species, CITES, to ban narwhal trade.

WDCS says it hoped that the authorities would match this trade ban with lower hunting quotas and said it was “disappointed at their failure to do so.”

“Instead, unsustainable numbers of narwhals will continue to be hunted during the trade ban and their ivory simply stockpiled for later export,” says the group’s news release.

According to researchers and international marine mammal management bodies, the narwhal population in Greenland has declined to only 25 per cent of its original size. There may be as few as 1,500 narwhal left – down from a population of about 30,000 not so long ago.

Greenland’s hunters and its fishing industry support a marine mammal hunt near its current level because it’s much more of a commercial hunt than, for example, in the Canada’s eastern Arctic, because mattak is sold in large amounts in Greenland’s country foods markets.