SULUK 1-20 - Agent Kit Survey - Air Greenland

– sometimes they come all the way
from the Upernavik region. As always,
people move to where they can make
the best living. Greenland halibut is
the mainstay for Ikerasak and its surroundings.
Huge quantities of the
coveted export have enabled the
dynamic settlement to expand. Development
like this is dependent on
the willingness of the population to
forge its own future. Ikerasak, with its
enterprising population is in many
ways a pioneering settlement. In
January it was the first settlement to
hold »Culture Night«, which is an
event that usually only takes place in
towns. During the night, it was possible
to visit, e.g. Royal Greenland’s fish
market, the old folk’s home with its
four residents, the kindergarten, the
generator building and the school.
And the athletic association ‘Eqaluk’
celebrated its 50th anniversary last
year. Ambitions are high; the football
team intends to be so good, that they
can compete in the Greenland Championship.
During the winter, the small
community hall is used for body-building
and a small hall for sports activities
is on the wish list.
Kristian Sigurdsen, Kali, the businessman
who runs the settlement’s refuse
collection, is a councillor. He believes
firmly in Ikerasak’s possibilities:
- If you want to define development,
you have to take active part. Ikerasak
has a great potential for development
and the halibut is a great asset for the
municipality.
From hunting to fishing
25 years ago, the settlement was a
hunting society well on the way to
fishing which, in those days, was just a
good income supplement. Nowadays,
the halibut is the only source of income
and it is no wonder that this
settlement, situated closest to the
»gold« at the head of the fjord where
the ice spills out, has grown and developed.
The salting house was replaced
in 1989 by the larger Royal Greenland
facility which is now managed by a
local woman, Arnaq Filemonsen.
About 1000 tons of halibut is filleted
and frozen here annually. Outsiders
also come here to trade fish. This year
alone it has been necessary to empty
the cold stores twice and transport the
frozen packets to Uummannaq by
snowmobile. The snowmobile is used
as a fine supplement to the dog sled.
Fishermen use snowmobiles to get
quickly out to their lines and back to
sell their catch. Also to get quickly to
Uummannaq and its surroundings
– provided there is ice and it is good.
Global warming has also had an effect.
It is felt particularly in the districts
where dog sledding on the ice is a
must. The ice forms much later than
before and there is much less of it. In
certain areas there can be long periods
where it is not possible to sail or dogsled
and this prevents hunters and
fishermen from earning a living. This
year, the edge of the ice was somewhat
south of Uummannaq, and this
meant that the inhabitants of Qaarsut
and Niaqornat on the northern side of
the Nuussuaq peninsular were not able
to use their dogs because the sea was
open. This gives food for thought.
The consequences are serious for the
people who live in the Uummannaq
region.
- Ikerasak itself hasn’t suffered so
much from the lack of ice. But for
Uummannaq Fjord as a whole, we
hear about significant consequences in
Air Greenland inflight magazine 53