Mayor Malene Vahl Rasmussen’s open letter to the Naalakkersuisoq stating that fishing quotas should create new jobs and attract new investments
Dear Naalakkersuisoq for Fisheries, Peter Borg
The new fishing quotas should not merely shift ownership among existing stakeholders. They should create new jobs, attract new investments, and generate new economic activity, including in South Greenland.
As Naalakkersuisoq for Fisheries, Hunting, Agriculture, and Self-Sufficiency, you recently stated that, through the ongoing quota auctions, the Naalakkersuisut aims to diversify quota ownership and attract new players to the fishing industry.
This is a goal that the Municipality of Kujalleq fully supports.
But if we truly believe that the quotas should be used to diversify ownership and promote development, then that principle must apply to all of Greenland, including South Greenland.
We need fishing to once again become a stronger part of economic development in our municipality. We have fishermen, ports, raw materials, and local communities that are capable of so much more than the opportunities we have today allow for.
Not all fishermen can be based in Nuuk and Northern Greenland. If we are serious about developing all of Greenland, then we must also have the courage to distribute opportunities and investments geographically.
The Municipality of Kujalleq therefore wishes for the ongoing quota auctions to be evaluated based on more than just short-term economic gains. Emphasis should also be placed on the specific economic activity and development that the quotas can generate in Greenland.
For many years, South Greenland has had great potential in the fishing industry and other marine sectors. But potential alone does not create jobs. It requires access to resources and the opportunity for long-term investment.
If a company wishes to establish a modern fish processing plant in Narsaq and, at the same time, develop a sustainable resource center, this should serve as an example of the kind of initiatives that we, as a society, should be interested in supporting.
It’s time we made the development of the fishing industry in South Greenland a higher priority on the agenda.
We need a fishing industry that has room for both large and small operators—one where quotas are not concentrated in the hands of a few companies, and where opportunities to create jobs and generate value are distributed more widely across the country.
If we want a strong and vibrant Greenland throughout the country, our fisheries policy must reflect that as well.
Malene Vahl Rasmussen,
Mayor of Kujalleq Municipality.
