Download Climate change in the North Atlantic has become a reality which we

Aalisarnermut, Piniarnermut Nunalerinermullu Naalakkersuisoqarfik
Department of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture
Finn's speech to NAFMC
Climate change in the North Atlantic has become a reality which we each experience in different ways and I believe that the effects will be increasingly apparent in the future. One of the
areas where I feel we need to adjust our practices in order to meet the challenges caused by
climate change is in the utilization of our marine resources.
The effects of climate change on the living marine resources in the North Atlantic impact
greatly on those communities that are dependent on fishing.
Therefore, this is a very important question, which encourages consideration of the current
management of the resource.
Effects of the climate changes
Here in Ilulissat it is evident how global warming impacts the melting of the glaciers. Understandably, the melting glaciers have become a symbol of climate change and the threat of rising water levels is an important global concern.
The period 2005 to 2010 was the warmest ever in the Arctic regions, and resulted in longer
and drier summers, reduced sea ice and an enormous loss of inland ice.
Science has made it clear that global warming is occurring at a faster rate in the Arctic regions
than in other places in the world. And the rise in temperature is far more serious here. Scientific scenarios indicate that we can expect an average temperature increase of up to ten degrees
in the Arctic regions in this century.
The Arctic regions play an important role in the understanding of the effects of climate changes in the Arctic area, but also in regard to the effects on the global climate system.
The melting of the Greenland ice sheet, Antarctica and glaciers around the world is faster now
than in the past. Over just the last decade, the rise in global sea levels increased from 1.8 mm
per. year to 3.4 mm per year. The latest forecast says that sea levels could rise by up to one
meter by year 2100. This has severe consequences for other vulnerable communities in lowlying countries far from the Arctic and can give the world community immense problems.
The people of the Arctic regions
It is important for me to emphasize that climate change also impact the people of the Arctic
regions and challenge our ability to adapt. The Arctic regions are home to many indigenous
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peoples whose cultures and activities have been formed by the Arctic climate through generations.
We have a long tradition of living in close interaction with the nature on which we are dependent. We have observed the climate changes and we have adapted ourselves, our lifestyle
and our traditional gathering of food.
Through generations, indigenous peoples in the Arctic regions have been used to dealing with
climate changes. But what we have experienced in recent years is that the weather patterns are
becoming more unpredictable, which makes it more difficult to trust the traditional knowledge
that has been passed on from generation to generation.
Changes in the quality and extent of snow and ice impact the livelihood in many communities
and threaten the cultural survival of some indigenous peoples. Climate change has affected the
Inuit population's access to some of our important fishing and hunting locations and consequently challenges our traditional lifestyle.
Climate change places us in a position where our traditional way of life and our unique Arctic
biodiversity face new and more radical changes – not least challenges we must meet together.
Observations
Here in Disko, the bay is covered in ice in winter and the ice functions as an important
transport route with dog sledges for the winter's traditional ice fishing for Greenland halibut.
The situation now is that the season for ice fishing is shortened in line with the warmer temperatures. Previously, ice fishing lasted from October to May, but now the ice period is shortened from December to March. This winter, however, there was no possibility for ice fishing
at all and ice fishing as an occupation is now almost gone.
Many ice fishermen have, however, been able to adapt to the new conditions, which is why
they fish from small boats – dinghies – instead. During the period the ice is melting, ice fishing is dangerous. At the same time, the ice cannot be used for ordinary inshore fishing either
since the ice is still too thick for the small boats to launch. As a result of climate change, we
see that this period is longer than it used to be, and the consequence for the fishermen is a
much poorer yield in their fishing.
Hunters in Uummannaq – which is north of here - have observed significant changes in the
weather and environment. The sea ice freezes later, the ice is thinner and it breaks up earlier.
According to a survey done among the polar bear hunters in North-Western Greenland, there
have been almost precisely the same observations of similar changes in the ice conditions.
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Ten years ago you used to be able to predict what the weather would be like tomorrow. Today,
it is far more unpredictable as the weather can change quickly and storms occur more often.
Previously, there used to be snow in the autumn which ensured calm weather conditions and
snow until the spring. There used to be two stable seasons; winter and summer. Now, summer
and winter have become shorter, while spring and autumn are now longer and generally have
more rain and more unstable weather.
Adapting
In line with the rise in temperatures, we expect the inland ice to continue to melt, changes in
the permafrost and changed ice conditions on land and at sea. These are all factors that affect
our society and our living conditions, and this requires adaptation initiatives and more resilience.
Adapting to climate change is a priority and we have a long tradition of adapting to a changing climate. As with any kind of change, regardless of whether it is caused by climate changes
or any other types of changes, it is natural for people to take advantage of the opportunities
that come about and cope with the challenges that arise.
The government of Greenland is working on integrating adaptation to climate changes in the
management of natural resources. Consequently, a study was carried out in 2012 which focuses on the possibilities of climate adaptation in the fishing and hunting industries.
Climate change bring new economic opportunities for the shipping industry, especially in the
form of shorter sailing routes, longer sailing seasons and increased access to oil and gas resources. But there is also uncertainty and challenges related to these opportunities in the form
of safety and environmental considerations, among other things.
The occurrences of minerals, rare earths and gems will become more accessible as the ice
gradually withdraws. This will form the basis for a potential mining industry in Greenland.
Other opportunities within the extraction industry, for example, within oil and gas have also
become more accessible due to the reduction of sea ice.
Less sea ice and a longer ice-free period helps extend the sailing season and opens up for new
sailing routes. New sailing routes can become a reality in this century.
Climate change improves the conditions for agriculture in south-westerly Greenland, which
will experience longer summers and less harsh winters.
In South Greenland climate change has, over the past 5 years, resulted in less rainfall. This has
the consequence that sheep farmers are experiencing that lambs are born smaller and grass
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yield decreases. Small lambs, combined with the fact that you have to import feed from
abroad, results in poorer economies for sheep farmers.
Fortunately, last year there was a lot of rain and good results, but fact is that the weather has
become more unpredictable.
Knowledge and sufficient information forms the basis of suitable adaptation. Greenland is a
focal point for comprehensive research in climate change and through continued focus on
climate related monitoring and research activities, Greenland contributes significantly to the
strengthening of national and international climate research.
Opportunities and challenges
Greenland is sparsely populated and we have no solid infrastructure to connect our more than
70 towns and settlements. As a consequence of this, Greenland is facing considerable challenges when it comes to maintaining a well-connected society – in order to meet the needs for
transportation and basic energy supply there is a need for large volumes of fossil fuels. Six
large towns in Greenland get electricity from hydro power, which corresponds to 70 percent
of the electricity consumption.
The fishing and hunting industry are important to our national identity and these industries
constitute a livelihood for many families, especially in the smaller settlements.
But these industries will not only encounter cultural and social challenges. Fishing is the
backbone in Greenland's economy and is Greenland's most important export sector. The consequences that climate change will have on the fishing industry will therefore have major direct and indirect consequences not only for the industry itself, but for the Greenlandic society
as a whole.
In the coming years it is clear that the Greenlandic shrimp fishing will be significantly limited
as recruitment of the stock has been poor for several years and there is yet no biological basis
for replacing it with fishing for cod. Despite new fishing opportunities, the overall profit from
fishing faces major challenges as the shrimp fishing comprises such a considerable part of the
sector's income. A reduced shrimp stock or even a collapse of this as a result of climate
change will have considerable consequences for Greenland's economy.
New opportunities
It is important for me to note that climate change also brings new opportunities and that in
some instances it is possible to turn the challenges into opportunities.
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It is only natural that we consider how these opportunities can form the basis for our country's
development - as any country would do.
The Greenlandic fisheries are very vulnerable and we try to optimize what we have while being very aware of the opportunities in new fishing activities. Until recently, Greenland had
generally not had occurrences of pelagic species, which constitutes a large part of the fishing
activities in other parts of the North Atlantic. However, the waters in East Greenland are currently undergoing major climatic changes. Rising sea temperatures have seen species such as
mackerel and herring now appearing in East Greenlandic waters. Exploratory fishing of pelagic species has taken place in the past two years and will continue this year.
Since mackerel migrated into East Greenlandic waters in around 2011, significant changes
have occurred for the Greenlandic fishing industry and with a exploratory quota of 100,000
tonnes of mackerel in 2014, mackerel fishing is expected to become Greenland's largest fishing activity. As yet there is no biological advice for mackerel in Greenland as it still a new
fishing activity.
The marine ecosystems are undergoing bigger changes than so far observed in Greenland. The
cause for the mackerels' migration to East Greenland is, among other things, ecosystem and
climate changes, including a rise in the sea temperature over the past ten years. The changed
environmental conditions in East Greenland is also the reason why other pelagic stocks such
as herring and blue whiting can be found today in larger quantities in East Greenland. At the
same time, the cod seems to have improved.
New challenges
We don't know yet if mackerel will remain in our waters - and in the large quantities we have
seen last year. It is an entirely new species in Greenland and there is a need for a great deal of
knowledge about mackerel, including how it will influence the ecosystem. We would like to
understand why the mackerel has migrated into Greenlandic waters. Will the stock be gone
next year perhaps? Can we carry out long-term planning of the fishing activity? How should
the fishery be taxed? How should we invest in the new fisheries?
In addition, there is a challenge in adapting the fleet capacity in both Greenland and throughout the North Atlantic - the fleet capacity is expected to grow - as Greenland and Iceland now
are part of the mackerel fisheries. We must consider what the ships will fish for the remainder of the year after the mackerel season. At the same time, changed and new fishing activities can have consequences for the processing factories on shore.
This development will require a significant adjustment of the fishing industry in the form of
investments in new equipment, utilization of new fishing methods, developing new knowledge
of the fishery and utilization of new fishing grounds, etc. The uncertainties about the effects of
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climate change can increase and can impact the industry's desire to make the necessary investments in order to better utilize the fishing resources. Therefore, it is important to have
timely management of the resources that keep up with the climate changes. This must also be
seen in relation to the changed behavior and migration patterns of the catches.
The changes in the fish stocks in the North Atlantic have led to increased conflicts of interests
about the distribution of the resources. International agreements on fishing activity have become challenged. The challenges increase if the management of the fishing resources is unable to keep up with the actual development in the stocks.
Research and cooperation
Monitoring and registration of new species traditionally commences simultaneously with the
start of the new fishing activity. Biological advice is typically brought about when a solid
body of data has been collected. In any case, it is important to make the right decisions at the
right time so that the fishery does not over-exploit existing fish stocks or ignores any new opportunities.
I believe that there is a need to analyze the effects of climate change on fish stocks in the
North Atlantic. We all face the challenge of distributing shared fish stocks – agreeing on the
principles for distribution as the stocks are migrating.
It is appropriate to consider whether the management systems in the North Atlantic countries
are suitable for a more dynamic future. The changes we face in our future fishing activities
must take into consideration the great complexity and the many aspects involved in the management of fishing activities.
I would like to emphasize the importance of increasing research cooperation throughout the
North Atlantic - within marine environment, biological research and management - in particular on our shared fish stocks.
Greenland takes part in the joint research cooperation where the entire range of the mackerel
is studied in order to gain a complete picture of its distribution - also of all the relevant Greenlandic sea areas. The countries in the cooperation - Iceland, Norway, Faroe Islands and the
EU - also exchange data and scientific studies.
On the basis of a special grant from the government of Greenland in the amount of DKK 2
million, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources is working together with their Icelandic
counterparts in carrying out studies on the distribution in Eastern Greenland in 2014.
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The mackerel distribution in the area between Iceland and Greenland has not yet been studied
in its entirety.
A strengthening of joint research and monitoring of the resources in the North Atlantic can
ensure that the adaptation to new fishing activities and the adaptation of the existing ones can
keep up with the faster changes so that fishing can continuously take place on a sustainable
basis and that agreement can be reached on the distribution of the resources.
Thank you very much.
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