CATCHES

Information on catches comes from forms completed by each hunter. It is s a requirement that the form be completed and sent to the Department for Fishing, Catching and Agriculture before a new licence is issued. Table 11 shows that 80 per cent of the licence holders sent in the form. When catching polar bears, fin whales, bowhead whales, minke whales, narwhals, belugas, walruses, reindeer, and musk oxen, the licence holder must also complete a special form.

Seals are the most frequently caught type of animal. 140.763 seals were caught in 2008. The most caught seals are ringed seals and harp seals. In 2008, 63.153 ringed seals and 73.880 harp seals were caught, cf. Table 12.

Figure 1

Catch of Small Whales

Note: The figures for 2008 are provisional. Catch data for narwhals and belugas are not directly comparable with quotas. The catch data include East Greenland where there is no quota catching. The catch data are compiled following the calendar year, not the quota year.

Source: The Department for Fishing, Catching, and Agriculture

The number of killed porpoises has risen significantly over the ten most recent years. The number of killed narwhals and belugas has declined. The catch of the different species is shown in Table 3.

The number of killed polar bears has been rising until 2003 and declined since then, cf. Table 3. Polar bear hunting has been subject to quotas since 2006. Most polar bears are caught in North and North-East Greenland, cf. Table 13.