Ten years of climate change adaptation in Greenlandic fisheries: key observations from local ecological knowledge

Abstract

This article reviews and examines the most significant climate-change-related impacts and adaptation from the perspective of stakeholders in Greenlandic fisheries. The study was constructed as a comprehensive, multi-site, bottom-up case study around Greenlandic fisheries (south-north/offshore-inshore), where interviews and workshops with Greenlandic fishers and stakeholders have communicated their observations of fishery changes associated with changes in the marine environment within the last decade. Key observations include: changes in sea ice cover; increased abundance of known species in North Greenland; fish species relocation and periodic absences in coastal systems; a northward movement of the shrimp fishery; new and unprecedented bycatch issues; and new fisheries. Stakeholder knowledge acknowledges the capacity of both offshore and coastal fisheries to adapt to changing seasonality and distribution. Factory capacity and decision-making as well as bycatch legislation have been identified as the most critical bottlenecks for (re)diversifying fisheries and increasing the value of the locally available resources.