Posted on May, 25 2006

The Greenland Home Rule has decided to increase the annual narwhal hunting quota from 260 animals to 310 on the west coast of Greenland.

The decision, taken in December, was against the advice of the local Institute of Natural Resources and the specialists of the North Atlantic Mar ine Mammal s Special i s t Organisation (NAMMCO). Both had advised and warned against taking more than 135 of the heavily decreased population of narwhals.

The or iginal quota of 260 animal s was s e t dur ing the summer of 2005 in contradiction to the recommended 135 after long debates in the local press and the Parliament.

The hunt started slowly during the autumn but in late November hunters in a local community, Uummannaq, struck gold. Perfect weather conditions coincided with the arrival of a large group of whales. At this time the hunters were 17 short of reaching their hunting quota of 68 whales but local authorities decided to keep the hunt open over the weekend to give the hunters the opportunity to take a few more narwhals. And so they did – about 70 narwhals and thereby exceeding the quota with more than 50 animals.

Two weeks later the decision to increase the quota was taken and the hunters did not have to face any penalties for their excessive hunt. The population of narwhals in Greenland is under pressure from pollution and climate change and over hunting could be the final straw.

According to the hunter s in Greenland, there are plenty of narwhals and belugas – but according to biologists in Canada and Greenland both populations of narwhals and belugas in Greenland are decreasing fast.

In December 2004, the EU scientific CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) Committee decided to impose a ban on all import of narwhal products to the EU. The decision is based on concerns that the Greenlandic quota initiative was not sufficient to halt the decline and that the trade in narwhal products may be detrimental to the population. Anne

Marie Berg
a.bjerg@wwf.dk