Bent Salling: Last call for shrimp factory

116 jobs are now seriously at stake in Aasiaat. If the factory is to close, it will have serious consequences for the local community.

Naalakkersuisut for Fisheries Peter Borg indicated a few days ago in a paragraph 37 response that the two fishing giants Polar Seafood and Royal Greenland simply need to enter into a joint dialogue to together find a solution for the challenged shrimp factories. The shrimp quota has been reduced by 35 percent in a few years, and the two companies each have two shrimp factories.

In his response, Peter Borg gave no indication that the political side was interested in providing a lifeline.

Unsuccessful dialogue

However, the dialogue between Royal Greenland and Polar Seafood, which Peter Borg has urged the companies to undertake, has already been underway, without the two fishing giants being able to find a solution, Bent Salling informs.

- We have informed Naalakkersuisoq for Fisheries that the companies (Polar Seafood and Royal Greenland, ed.) cannot find a solution that can save the shrimp factory, Bent Salling informs Sermitsiaq.

- A political solution must be found, the director states and explains the serious situation:

- We have done everything

- We have restructured our fleet by converting a ship from being a freezer trawler to producing iced shrimp so that it can supply the Aasiaat factory. We have done everything we could to save the factory, but it is not enough, emphasizes Bent Salling.

He states that now the politicians must “make a choice whether they want to do something or just look the other way” with the consequences that will have when a local community loses more than 100 jobs.