Sikuaq Trawlimi pisortaq Carl Christensen: – Islandimi Savalimmiunilu pinngitsooratik illaruaatigaatigut

– Of course we are disappointed, as the rejection means that our trawler will be at the dock for a significant part of 2026. The allocated quotas for shrimp and mackerel are far from enough for year-round fishing for the trawler.

This is what Carl Christensen, the main owner and director of Sikuaq Trawl A/S, tells Sermitsiaq.

As we wrote on December 12th last year, Sikuaq Trawl A/S with the trawler Svend C had applied for a seagoing cod quota in West Greenland in 2026.

On December 19, the company received a rejection from the Ministry of Fisheries, Hunting, Agriculture and Self-Sustainability of the Greenlandic Government.

Sikuaq Trawl estimates that the company's trawlers will only be fishing for shrimp and mackerel for approximately eight and a half months in 2026. In that scenario, there will be no shrimp quota to carry over from this year to 2027. At the same time, the outlook for the future of the mackerel stock in the North Atlantic is extremely uncertain.

“Therefore, we are looking into an uncertain future, as long as we only have shrimp and mackerel to fish for,” says Carl Christensen.

100% locally based company

Sikuaq Trawl A/S is a 100 percent locally based and financially robust company with many years of experience.

Carl Christensen emphasizes that Sikuaq Trawl has always been among the shrimp companies with the highest prices achieved for the raw materials and given the best wages to the crew. In this way, the company has contributed well to Greenlandic society, he says.

The new players

On December 18, the Government of Greenland distributed the seagoing cod quota in West Greenland for 2026. The quota is a total of 16,000 tonnes. The quota has been distributed between eight companies, five of which were allocated quotas in 2025.

This is clear from an overview of the distribution that Sikuaq Trawl has received from the Ministry of Fisheries, Hunting, Agriculture and Self-Sustainability. Sikuaq Trawl has shared the overview with Sermitsiaq.

The companies Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS, M/Tr Claudia, and Tuullik A/S are new to the ocean-going cod fishery in West Greenland this year.

The old favorites that will once again receive cod quotas in West Greenland this year are Royal Greenland A/S, Polar Seafood Greenland A/S, Sigguk A/S and Qaleralik A/S.

The quotas for seagoing cod in East Greenland will not be distributed by the Government of Greenland until early 2026, once the bilateral fisheries negotiations between Greenland and Norway have been finalized.

Carl Christensen emphasizes that it is only fair that fully Greenlandic companies, such as M/tr Claudia and Tuullik A/S, have been allocated offshore cod quotas in West Greenland in 2026.

Sikuaq Trawl A/S is outraged

– But in connection with the quota distribution, we at Sikuaq Trawl are upset that the Greenlandic government is allocating cod quotas in West Greenland to companies with strong foreign interests, says Carl Christensen.

Here he is specifically referring to the companies Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS and Arsuk Food ApS. The chairman of the board of Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS is the powerful and influential Icelandic businessman, Gudmundur Kristjánsson.

Kristjánsson is the largest owner of the large Icelandic fishing group Brim hf. Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS is 100 percent owned by Arctic Prime Coastal ApS, of which the Icelandic company Línuskip ehf owns one third.

Hentzar Petersen, who lives in Qaqortoq, formally owns two-thirds of Arctic Prime Coastal ApS. Línuskip ehf. is owned 100 percent by Gudmundur Kristjánsson.

Loss-making Arctic Prime

If you delve into the annual accounts, it appears that Arctic Prime Fisheries has had difficulty generating a profit.

From 2014 to 2024, the annual accounts of Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS have shown a loss after tax eight times. Last year, the loss was 12 million kroner.

At the group level, the annual accounts for 2024 for Arctic Prime Coastal ApS show a negative equity of DKK 228 million.

Carl Christensen is surprised that Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS, with the large quota of seagoing cod in East Greenland that the company has been allocated for many years, has not been able to make money, as the company has predominantly made losses in recent years.

Carl Christensen says that he is convinced that if a Greenlandic fishing company showed the same results in Iceland, it would not be long before the Greenlandic company was kicked out of the country.

Old acquaintance in Greenlandic fishing

The large Faroese fishing group P/F JFK owns just under 20 percent of Arsuk Food ApS through the company Malik Seafood ApS. Shipowner and main owner of P/F JFK, Hanus Hansen, is an old acquaintance in Greenlandic fishing.

In 2007, Hanus Hansen and P/F JFK helped start the Arctic Prime companies until P/F JFK sold its shares to one of Gudmundur Kristjánsson's family businesses in 2014. From 2007 to 2013, Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS made a loss in all years except 2011. Hanus Hansen is chairman of the board of Malik Seafood ApS, which owns Arsuk Food ApS.

Arsuk Food ApS has been fishing with the longline boat Arsugaq in 2025. Arsugaq was flagged in 2025 from the Faroe Islands, where the longline boat was named Kvikk.

In the Ship Bulletin on the Danish Maritime Authority's website, it appears that the vessel's former owner, P/F Kvikk, has a full mortgage on Arsugaq. P/F Kvikk is 100 percent owned by P/F JFK. However, the mortgage on the vessel indicates, according to Sermitsiaq's information, that P/F JFK has more say in Arsuk Food ApS than the ownership stake indicates.

Carl Christensen is surprised that Sikuaq Trawl A/S is denied a cod quota with fishing capacity as a justification, while Skibsbladet shows that Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS on December 3rd has been granted permission to register the large Icelandic ice fishing trawler Helga Maria, which has now been named Ilivileq. Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS now has two trawlers, Tasermiut and Ilivileq.

– I understand if people in Iceland and the Faroe Islands laugh at us Greenlanders. Instead of fully investing in local companies, precious cod quotas are now being given to companies with strong foreign interests. It is tragicomic, says Carl Christensen.

Haven't lost hope

Have you now lost hope for a seagoing cod quota?

– No, not at all. In fishing, you always have to be optimistic and believe in things. We believe that we have a good cause. If you want development in Greenland's fishing, it only makes sense that locally based companies are allocated quotas, says Carl Christensen.