Ten years of climate change adaptation in Greenlandic fisheries: key observations from local ecological knowledge

• Published in: Climate Research
• Main Authors: Jacobsen, Rikke Becker, Dyremose, Sun Cole Seeberg, Ounanian, Kristen, Raakjær, Jesper
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Inter-Research 2023
• Subjects: Arctic; Greenland; greenlandic; North Greenland; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01728

This article reviews and examines the most significant climate-change-related impacts and adaptation from the perspective of stakeholders in Greenlandic fisheries. The study was constructed as a comprehensive, multi-site, bottom-up case study around Greenlandic fisheries (south−north/offshore−inshore), where interviews and workshops with Greenlandic fishers and stakeholders have communicated their observations of fishery changes associated with changes in the marine environment within the last decade. Key observations include: changes in sea ice cover; increased abundance of known species in North Greenland; fish species relocation and periodic absences in coastal systems; a northward movement of the shrimp fishery; new and unprecedented bycatch issues; and new fisheries. Stakeholder knowledge acknowledges the capacity of both offshore and coastal fisheries to adapt to changing seasonality and distribution. Factory capacity and decision-making as well as bycatch legislation have been identified as the most critical bottlenecks for (re)diversifying fisheries and increasing the value of the locally available resources.