Jens Otto RASMUSSEN - Assistant-manager with the shop of

Kangersuatsiaq - Latitude 72 00 NR - Longitude 055 32 W

170 inhabitants

Interviewed in June 2009

The fishermen used to catch more fish during the winter – now the situation has reversed, and the catches are bigger in summer. This is due to the warming of the sea. The ice has become too thin, and it’s much more difficult to fish during this season. Winter has become a real headache. As a result, a lot of inhabitants have problems to feed their dogs. Seal hunting which used to take place on the ice can no longer be done in that way. You have to wait for spring, to be able to hunt for seals from the boats.

The village cannot provide employment for everybody – the ones without a job are obliged to fend for themselves and live from fishing and hunting. For this reason, more and more people leave the village and move to the large towns where there are more opportunities to find a job. We used to have two hundred and twenty inhabitants, compared with a hundred and seventy today.

The economic situation makes things worse – the fisherman is paid for his fish nine kroner a kilo, a price which hasn’t changed in the last fifteen years, while the cost of living has not stopped rising. Another sign of warming is the appearance of bees. They used to be unknown at these latitudes. Only flies and mosquitoes would show up in the summer months.

The economy and the condition of the ice pack are without doubt the major preoccupations of our community. Until now, we have never had an accident on the ice in winter. Summer remains much more dangerous. In 2006, two fatal accidents caused by falling from motor boats have hit the village.