Seals of Greenland

Text: Greenland Today
Photos: Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid
Article from the former magazine, Greenland Today

Greenland’s seals – the myths

Greenland seals are no longer in general characterized as endangered species. These and other point of views are the outcomes of the work of researcher Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid in his new book »Seals of Greenland«.

The number of Greenland seals in the population living between Greenland and Canada has grown from around 1.8 million in the early 1970s, to around 7-8 million seals today.

The harbour seal or common seal as it is generally known, is the only one of the Greenland seal species that has been declining in number. Therefore, from 1 December 2010, it is now protected in Greenland, along with the gray seal, which was seen in Greenland for the first time with certainty in 2009.

In the book »Seals of Greenland« researcher Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid describes the status of seals in the sea around Greenland. The book gives a good insight into factors that affect seal life and researcher Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid (MSc (biology) and Ph.D, University of Copenhagen, has studied the life conditions of the seals over many years.

Seals are no longer the fundamental life condition

Until recently the seals have played a significant role in the survival of the Greenlandic people. They provided meat for the pot, fuel for lamps, and skins for clothing and so they were the backbone of the daily household.

However, slowly but surely, refrigerators and modern life have reduced their importance. Yet they are still the economic base for many people and the Greenlandic seal hunt is actually bigger than ever before. Around 150,000 seals are hunted annually and seal meat is still eaten by a large proportion of the population. For many of the approx. 2,500 full-time hunters, seal skin is their main source of income and for many years about 55-75 people have worked in the Great Greenland tannery.

Seals are still important, but they have lost their fundamental importance as fisheries and a number of other new industries have been developed.

Seals and fishermen are competing

The relationship with the seals has therefore also changed. Centuries of exploitation of the seal breeding grounds have now come under scrutiny, and many seal colonies have increased significantly in recent decades. Large numbers of seals are no longer only associated with wealth and prosperity.

The seals are now seen by many fishermen as competitors and it is therefore necessary to have a clear indication of their numbers, their eating habits, and their influence on fish stocks, which now form the backbone of Greenland’s economy.

There are more questions than answers. Arctic ecosystems are constantly changing. The growing seal population has begun to change their distribution and behavior. The climate is also changing, which has meant the fauna in the ocean has changed in general. Seals are therefore part of highly dynamic ecosystems.

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