Greenland has revealed that it is to give 52 per cent of its total mackerel quota to domestic vessels.
Greenland has a total allowable catch of 100,000 metric tonnes this year and, to date, 37 applications have been handed in for the fishery, totaling over 300,000 tonnes of mackerel catches, revealed the country’s department for fishery, hunting and agriculture.
The government, which previously said Greenland-owned vessels would be given priority for its mackerel fishery, said 12 of these applicants would be allocated a quota.
Polar Seafood chairman Henrik Leth said that companies have handed in bids for over 70,000 tonnes of the total allowable catch. He would not disclose how much Polar had bid for, but said everyone was still waiting for their quota to be allocated.
The Greenland government opted to prioritise domestic vessels in order to boost employment at home and, at the same time, encourage investment.
Thirty-eight per cent of the total allowable catch will be allocated to Greenlanders who own their own ships or chartered vessels.
The remaining 10 per cent is to be kept on reserve and allocated over the course of the season. Finn Karlsen, the head of the department for fishery, hunting and agriculture, explained that they want to optimise the fishery as the season goes on by giving additional quotas to firms that are fishing effectively.