The Davis Strait - DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi

Table 5.2.1. 2011 quotas for the four species of baleen whales and two species of tooth whales caught in West Greenland
waters (APNN 2011b).
Species West Greenland quota Quota in the
Catch in the
assessment area assessment area in 2010
Minke whale
(Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
160
185 (178 + 7 transferred
from 2010)
Open (12 for collective hunt) 83
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) 10 Open 3
Humpback whale
(Megaptera novaeangliae)
9 6 6
Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) 2 0 0
Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) 310 6 NA
Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) 310 41 NA
Most minke whales are hunted from boats equipped with harpoon cannons,
loaded with explosive penthrite grenades, but a limited number of minke
whales can be taken as ‘collective hunt’ from dinghies (Anon 2010c). In 2010,
the total catch of minke whales reported in zones within the assessment area
was 83 individuals: 21 minke whales for the Sisimiut area, 37 for Maniitsoq,
11 for Nuuk and 14 for Pamiut (APNN, unpubl. data). Most minke whale
catches within the assessment area (Fig. 5.2.5) are females due to a sexual
segregation where females tend to migrate further north than males to their
summer feeding grounds, resulting in more females than males in West
Greenland (Laidre et al., 2009).
Fin whales, bowhead whales and humpback whales can only be hunted using
harpoon cannons and explosive penthrite grenades (Anon 2010c). Due to
a lack of boats equipped with harpoon cannons in the northernmost parts of
West Greenland, fin whales and humpback whales are normally taken in
Disko bay or further south (as mentioned above, bowhead whales are hunted
only in Disko Bay). In 2010, three fin whales were caught within the assessment
area and two were hunted just south of Disko Island in
Qeqertarsuaq and Ilulissat, north of the assessment area. Of the quota of
nine humpback whales for each of the years 2010 and 2011, three whales
were given to the municipality of Qeqqata and three to Sermersooq, both
within or close to the assessment area. Two humpback whales were given to
the municipality of Qaasuisup, north from the assessment area and one to
Kujalleq, south of the assessment area. Figure 5.2.5 shows the positions of fin
whales caught in 1988-2007 and humpback whales caught in 2010. In addition
to the hunt, up to approximately five humpback whales are unintentionally
caught in fishing gear every year in Greenland.