Lumpfish – a serious sign of springtime
The Lumpfish fishing season is of utmost importance for the dinghy based fishermen operating from the Disko Bay and southwards. A large part of the yearly income is earned during these intensive weeks.
The arrival of the lumpfish in the coastal areas is among the first tangible signs of spring in West Greenland. The sun has come back from its winter hiding and temperatures are on the rise. In many towns and settlements the lumpfish fishery is of great importance for the yearly income of the fishermen and their families and is therefore a welcomed herald of spring.
In the smaller settlements lumpfish roe is among the only products that can be landed. Therefore it is a significantly contributing factor to progress in the more isolated communities along the west coast. Royal Greenland operates 12 factories of various sizes where lumpfish roe is bought from local fishermen.
The fact that cleansing and salting of roe does not require freezing facilities makes the small scale productions in the smallest settlements fully competitive against the larger and more advanced landing facilities. In three of these settlements where the number of inhabitants range from 100-250 persons Royal Greenland operates small landing facilities for lumpfish roe, namely in Niaqornaarsuk, Ikerasaarsuk and Qaarsut.
During the lumpfish season the door to the world market is opened, and the fishermen can compete with their colleagues from other fishing nations on equal terms. In the small factories the staff will increase from 1-2 in the low season to up to 10 persons in roe season. Much effort is being implemented in the few weeks of lumpfish fishery, and the most vigorous fishermen deliver up to 10 tons of roe and make a considerable share of their yearly income.
After the lumpfish season the fishermen switch to fishing other species i.e. cod and halibut or take on other jobs. The factories switch to home market driven products like dried and salted cod in summer and dried halibut in the wintertime.
