20 years ago, fishermen were paid to regulate the Greenland shark.
For each shark head or heart that fishermen could deliver to the municipality as documentation, they received 100 kroner as a reward.
The spread of Greenland sharks has today become such a nuisance to the fishing industry that it is proposed that money be taken from a special pool that would go towards cleaning the seabed to recover lost fishing gear.
300 kroner per shark
850,000 kroner has been set aside in 2026 for the collection of lost fishing gear, and that pool of money will be somewhat depleted, as the plan is to catch 1,000 Greenland sharks, according to the presentation of the case prior to the upcoming municipal council meeting.
The Finance Committee proposed that each Greenland shark should trigger a lump sum payment of 300 kroner to the fishermen. This would mean a potential expense of 300,000 kroner.
A minority, consisting of IA, Atassut and Demokraatit, is against the efforts to clean the seabed being impaired in this way.
Poisonous meat
The case will be considered by the full municipal council on February 13, where Siumut and Naleraq hold a comfortable majority.
The Greenland shark can grow to be six to seven metres long and weigh up to 1.5 tonnes. Fresh shark meat is initially toxic due to high levels of urea. However, through a special fermentation or drying process, it is possible to remove the toxins from the meat.
