Martin RASMUSSEN - Assitant manager with the fisheries

Sondre Upernavik - Latitude 72 09 NR - 055 31 W

250 inhabitants

Interviewed in June 2009

The weather is much milder than it used to be, for a large part of the year. Winter gets cold in March, but well above the temperatures I knew as a child. The ice arrives in January. Usually you can walk on it, but it wasn’t the case this year, as it was really too thin. The fishing season is considerably reduced – it has gone from five months to three.

The types of fish have changed. You find a lot of catfish, and there are also many more cod in winter.

From an economic point of view, we work very hard, but our purchasing power doesn’t keep up. Taxes have gone up considerably, which affect us in our daily life.

The European regulations cause us a lot of hardship, as we can no longer sell seal skins. Some months they are not sold at all. It’s becoming more and more difficult to live in the small villages.