In Qaanaaq's icy waters: Utuuniaq Simigaq's life as a fisherman and trapper

Five dinghies have headed for a pack of walruses. Utuuniaq Simigaq is at the helm of one of them the dinghies, surrounded by the hidden dangers of the sea. He has to keep an eye on you a lot passage: Is there a sheen in the sea? How close are the walruses? And even if it's the middle during the day, the prisoners can only orientate themselves with the help of their headlamps.

The fresh, cold wind feels like a familiar breath in the face - a breath that reminds him childhood, when he looked up to his father, who was a prisoner. One of his earliest memories are of the father who went out polar bear hunting.

Five dinghies have headed for a pack of walruses. Utuuniaq Simigaq is at the helm of one of them the dinghies, surrounded by the hidden dangers of the sea. He has to keep an eye on you a lot passage: Is there a sheen in the sea? How close are the walruses? And even if it's the middle during the day, the prisoners can only orientate themselves with the help of their headlamps.

The fresh, cold wind feels like a familiar breath in the face - a breath that reminds him childhood, when he looked up to his father, who was a prisoner. One of his earliest memories are of the father who went out polar bear hunting.

It's a cockroach (winter darkness, ed.), which has made the view quiet and impassable. But to to everyone's great surprise, the waters are open and ice-free, even though the calendar only says early november.

- Such a one chance must not be wasted, thought Utuuniaq Simigaq.

That is why he has also brought his uncle with him, the uncle he sees every day anyway, and with whom he would rather share the trip when nature suddenly shows itself from an unexpected side.

On this sudden and daring trip, Utuuniaq Simigaq and the other trappers managed to take home 15 walruses.

In the video below, you can see their walrus hunt at 12-1pm in the middle of the day.

The sea ice is a challenge

Utuuniaq Simigaq is 25 years old and was born in Qaanaaq. He is a fisherman and a trapper.

- I stayed fishes and catches after primary school, he says and explains that the town's Trappers and fishermen at the moment have very little work because the sea ice is so unstable that it limits their opportunities to go out.

- That's how it is now every single year. It affects us a lot, because when we want to go out fishing, we can't because the sea ice is so unpredictable, he says.

Utuuniaq Simigaq also says that he can clearly feel how families with children is also hard hit. He has no children himself. - The prisoners have no income right now, and therefore only the wives earn money, he says.

Utuuniaq Simigaq states that three months have now passed since he himself was last paid.

- That's a lot challenging. We don't make money until Christmas, for example. My diet consists primarily from the family's invitations to dinner, he says.

In the case of Utuuniaq Simigaq, he has used the dark time to build a hut.

- I built it for myself. It must be used when I'm out fishing. I just finished it, he says.

Dream stays fulfilled

Utuuniaq Simigaq had some very close role models. When he was a child, he looked up a lot to his father and uncle.

- I would like to like to look like them. They are incredibly skilled catchers. I remember how much I admired my uncle. He had great motor skills and his sled dogs were always so beautiful, says Utuuniaq Simigaq.

Therefore he has knew since he was a child that he should be in that profession.

- When I was little and my father was going sailing, I cried my lungs out because I wanted to with, he smiles.

He was allowed to do that to, and at the age of six, he experienced a violent weather event, which he never has forgotten. At the time, the family lived in Siorapaluk, about 45 kilometers north of Qaanaaq.

- The weather changed very suddenly and it started to storm. We were obviously drifting out to sea. I had no idea because we found ourselves on sea ice. Luckily we had a dinghy, Utuuniaq Simigaq remembers.

Life as a fisherman

Then Utuuniaq Simigaq was about 20 years old, he was already among those who traded the most fish.

- We are fishing all year round - from the time the sea ice settles until it melts again, we are out at sea, he says.

It means a lot to him to be able to try the family with food.

- I always try to make sure that my family can eat new meat every year, he says.

Utuuniaq Simigaq loves the way the Inughuit gather warehouse - as he says it himself - it's different than in other towns and villages along the coast.

- We can take the narwhal as an example. We put narwhal meat in a meat pit. You don't do that in the other more southern cities and settlements. We do, and we save them for holidays such as confirmations and similar, tells Utuuniaq Simigaq.

Also the meat of walrus, narwhal, seal and kingfishers is buried in the ground as storage.

Of the large animals, the Utuuniaq are the Simigaqs favorite catch the narwhal.

- I love all catching, but the narwhal catch stands out. I love to row my kayak and follow the whales. When I was 20 year, I killed my first narwhal, he says, adding that he makes it himself – with the help of his father – hunting tools such as harpoon points and the like.

In Qaanaaq you have lists of the best sellers fishermen and trappers.

- I was once number two on the list of those who have sold the most narwhals and number three on the list above those who have sold the most mattak, he says.

This is how to live Utuuniaq Simigaq during the Dark Ages. The catch is limited during these months, however he continues his work as always. Although darkness is part of his everyday life, there is still hope for support that can make life easier in periods of fewer people resources.