Aasiaat factory is under acute threat of closure

They have produced shrimp, halibut, cod, roe and crab for many years. But now Polar Raajat's factory in Aasiaat is facing an acute threat of closure.

- If the factory is closed, it will cost 115 employees their jobs. So if a permanent political solution is not found, as there is no economy in operating with the limited raw material base we have, we will close the factory permanently during the autumn of 2026.

This is what Bent Salling, chairman of the board of Polar Raajat, tells Sermitsiaq after a board meeting on Monday, February 9.

The other members of the board are Miki Brøns and Henrik Leth.

Sermitsiaq has been informed of the closure plans for the Aasiaat factory by the company.

Polar Raajat's board and crisis meeting on Monday came in the wake of a municipal council meeting last week in the Municipality of Qeqertalik. The meeting took place in Aasiaat.

Here, the municipal politicians in Qeqertalik discussed a message from Polar Raajat that the factory in Aasiaat would turn the key if a solution was not found.

4,000 tons of shrimp are missing

The situation surrounding the factory, which is the city's largest company, is extremely serious. The factory must have at least 10,000 tons of shrimp to ensure 12 months of operation. And that is not the case.

Because of the decrease in shrimp quotas, the factory will be short of 4,000 tons of shrimp this year and next. And that could be the death knell for the factory.

- The consequence is that the factory will have to close for three months each year, and thus the Aasiaat factory is facing an acute threat of having to close permanently, says Bent Salling.

Pressure on

Polar Raajat, which among other things owns the factory in Aasiaat, is owned by the private Greenlandic-Danish fishing empire with the two groups Polar Seafood Greenland A/S and Polar Seafood Denmark A/S.

Bent Salling and Miki Brøns are co-owners of both groups.

The two hold top positions as CEOs in Polar Seafood Greenland, Greenland's largest private group by far. Henrik Leth is CEO of Polar Seafood Denmark.

- We are pressing for a political solution, states Bent Salling.

Of the 115 employees who risk losing their jobs if the Aasiaat factory is closed, 87 are local, while the rest are international employees.

The Fisheries Act and factory closure

According to Bent Salling, the reason for the acute threat of closing the factory in Aasiaat is a combination of biological and political conditions, which together have created a very difficult operating environment for the factory.

- The attempts to find a solution in cooperation with Minister of Fisheries Peter Borg and Royal Greenland have been fruitless, says Bent Salling.

He explains that Polar has held meetings with the municipal council of Qeqertalik Municipality, which "naturally, like Polar, is also pressing for a solution".

A closure of the factory will mean a huge decrease in activities in Aasiaat, as the factory is the backbone of the town, believes the chairman of Polar Raajat.

- We have lived with uncertainties regarding the shrimp population for many years. We can handle that, but we are not in control of the politically created problems and cannot solve them, says Bent Salling.

The chairman says that Polar has made the politicians in Naalakkersuisut and Inatsisartut aware of the problem that the shrimp factory was in danger of closing due to the new fisheries law.

- We made the politicians aware of that before the fisheries law was passed. So it must be well-known in the civil service and the political system that this situation has arisen, says Bent Salling.

He reiterates that the current challenges for the shrimp factory are largely due to political decisions in connection with the new Fisheries Act, which came into force on 1 January 2026.

The law has been in the works for more than 20 years and, among other things, aims to ensure a more sustainable and modern management of fishing resources.

On 16 May last year, the Greenlandic Government announced that Greenland's new Fisheries Act had finally been adopted in the Parliament.

Calls for a long-term political solution

It is particularly the new provisions in the Fisheries Act that have had direct and serious consequences for the factory's chances of survival.

- The restrictions on buying and selling quotas to third parties make it impossible for Polar Seafood to adapt to the biological fluctuations in the shrimp population through market-based solutions, says Bent Salling.

Polar is calling for a political solution that will ensure the operation and development of Polar Raajat in Aasiaat in the long term.

However, the consequence of a long-term solution will be that the self-governing Royal Greenland factory in Ilulissat will have to close to purchasing shrimp, Polar believes.

- It is our clear opinion that the continued operation of our factory in Aasiaat can only be ensured through a political solution.

- Rapid and targeted action is needed from the relevant authorities to ensure the necessary supplies to the factory.

- We therefore call for swift action at the political level so that the factory in Aasiaat can continue its operations and preserve jobs in the local community.

- Without a solution, the consequences will be noticeable – not only for the company, but for the whole of Aasiaat, says Bent Salling.