Preface
To
the bitter end
‘All the Thick-billed Murres [Brünnich's Guillemot], Razorbills, Common and King Eider Ducks, and most of the Black-legged Kittiwakes were gone. Nesting cliffs where Bertelsen had recorded 500,000 murres and 100,000 kittiwakes were vacant of all bird life. The cliffs were still stained from seabird excrement, and ancient grass-covered kittiwake nests remained, but otherwise there was no sign of the thousands of birds that once flourished there.’
So wrote the
American biologist Kurt K. Burnham when describing what he had observed
sailing through the Uummannaq area in the summer of
2000.
Sailing by boat from
Kangerlussuaq/Søndre Strømfjord to
Qaanaaq/Thule, Burnham and three colleagues decided to take a closer
look at the immensely rich bird life, which had been meticulously recorded 100
years earlier by Alfred Bertelsen, a Danish
doctor*.
After eighteen days investigating two
hundred and seven of the two hundred and ten bird sites identified by Bertelsen,
the four Americans were shocked – everything was gone! Shot to
oblivion.
Unfortunately,
despite the Americans’ disturbing revelations, the over exploitation of living
resources in Greenland is old news – with destruction not simply confined to the
Uummannaq area.
Alarm bells have rung since the late
1960’s. Increasingly, though to little avail, biologists and scientists from
Denmark, UK, Canada and many other countries have voiced their concerns about
the over exploitation of wildlife in Greenland. Both the Danish Colonial
Government of the day, and Greenlanders themselves have consistently and
stubbornly turned a blind eye.
In today’s modern Greenland hunting,
fishing and trapping is taking place in a way that is ecologically and
economically unsustainable. The unchecked use of living resources is taking
place as if the present generation of Greenlanders were the last inhabitants on
planet earth.
Brünnich's Guillemot,
Beluga (White Whale), Common Eider, Walrus, Harbour Seal, King Eider, Artic
Tern, Atlantic Halibut, Cod, Atlantic Salmon, Scallop – each species is a
testimony to the tragic story and the consequences of decades of blind
exploitation of living resources.
And this
destruction of the biodiversity in Greenland appears likely to continue to the
bitter end. Fisherman and hunters deny that a problem exists, and only a handful
of politicians seem to have the courage to take the necessary
action.
The alarming and most likely outcome is
that present catch volumes will lead to even more drastic reductions in stocks,
rendering them uneconomic in terms of their contribution to Greenland society.
Some species will undoubtedly become extinct.
Additionally, there are intangible
losses: Culture, identity and respect from the outside world. Future generations
of young Greenlanders will never be able to experience the abundantly rich
wildlife that Greenland once offered. Moreover, their fathers will be remembered
worldwide as men that squandered everything away. An ancient proud hunting
society will be reduced to a bitter shadowland of denial and
repression.
The aim of this little book
is to document the over exploitation of Greenland’s unique fauna. Supported by
factual evidence from Greenland’s own biologists, the book illustrates the
already comprehensive destruction. It demonstrates that Greenlanders are not
living sustainably – and, seen from a modern perspective, shows that they never
have.
If one were to
project this negative development a mere 10-20 years into the future then the
fate of most animals targeted for hunting will be sealed. As a result, wavering
decision makers need to address this issue as a matter of urgency. This book
attempts to outline the options available.
What may appear to be a regional problem
is of global interest. Greenland’s wildlife is part of humanity’s common
heritage and, increasingly, the eyes of the world will be focused on the way
Greenlanders manage these living resources. If this book can make a contribution
to helping the process start speeding up a little, then it will not have been
written in vain.
Finally, I would
like to thank the many people in Greenland, Canada, Iceland and
Denmark who unselfishly provided information, comments and corrections.
Without their encouragement and assistance none of this would have been
possible.
Kjeld
Hansen
Klippinge,
Denmark, January 2002
* Alfred
Bertelsen was a Danish doctor with an interest in ornithology. He practised and
lived in Uummannnaq from 1905–1920 and collected information during his travels
through the Uummannaq district (70º03’ to 72º03’N). For fifteen years Bertelsen
documented the breeding grounds of many different species including 30 Gyrfalcon
nesting sites, as well as the location and population densities of seabirds,
divers, gulls and other species. Bertelsen’s research, including maps of the 210
locations, was published under the title The Birds of Uummannaq District (Fuglene i Umánaq distrikt), in the
Danish scientific journal, Meddelelser om
Grønland, (62:2).