Aqqaluk KARLSEN - Institor

Sondre Upernavik - Latitude 72 09 NR - Longitude 055 31 W

250 inhabitants

Interviewed in June 2009

In the past, our region was over-fished, and the fish became rare. They are now back, and they generate a comfortable income for numerous individuals. We used to be able to hunt the narwhal in our own way, but that is now no longer possible as the hunting is regulated. The narwhals feed from the same varieties of fish as we are trying to catch. Going towards the north, there are more and more narwhals, and their consumption of halibut is a cause of concern for the fishermen. There are also now a large number of whales, and they come in October and in spring to feed on our coast and in our fjords.

In Sondre Upernavik, as in many villages, we don’t have possibilities for education. This forces us to send our children from the age of 13 or 14 years old to the large towns such as Upernavik to continue their studies. Sondre Upernavik has a total of eighty children, and our school can only take forty. Half of them are obliged to go and study elsewhere. In order to stay with them, the parents leave their village and move with them to the city. Another reason for this migration is that there is not enough work for everybody. The opportunities are much greater in Upernavik.

Tourism could provide a complement for the seasonal activities. This has already been tried with the cruise ships, but for the moment, that remains marginal.