"This could lead to the closure of many plants and the loss of hundreds of jobs," warned Royal Greenland Chair, Maliina Abelsen.
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Greenland's seafood industry is bracing for impact, as fishing quotas for the biggest industry players are to be reduced following new rules on fisheries passed by the Greenlandic parliament on 16 May.
As reported by Greenlandic news outlet Sermitsiaq, the legislation - now updated for the first time since 1996 - will see individually tradeable quotas introduced for Greenland's inland fisheries, while bringing in a quota cap for offshore fisheries. It will also introduce a new 5-year resident requirement for fishermen, and require 100% Greenlandic ownership.
There will now be a 10-year transition period for the changes to be implemented.
However, Greenland's biggest seafood players, Polar Seafood Greenland, and state-owned fishing giant Royal Greenland, have both warned of imminent dire consequences in terms of job losses, facility closures and reduced investments.
Chairman of Polar Seafood Greenland Michael Binzer denounced the changes in a recent Danish-language LinkedIn post, saying that the new legislation "takes away 30% of our company's quota base without any form of compensation", and warned of "consequences".
"We have already announced that we are halting investments in our factory in Aasiaat, where new staff housing and additional freezing capacity were planned. This has already led KJ Greenland (a contractor) to question the future of their contracting business in the town, which is also a major apprenticeship site. We believe there will be other consequences for the industrial companies and businesses that Polar Seafood is a significant customer of: Vonin, Transportservice, SØMA, and many others," Binzer wrote.
"Additionally, we are looking at a 3-year period during which we will gradually reduce production with the aim of closing the factory in 3 years. This is because our raw material base of just over 11,000 tons will be significantly reduced, which is the critical amount needed for the factory to be profitable," he continued.
The company has created a dedicated "transparency" page on its website to detail its reponses to the new legislation, stating: "We want a law that promotes stability and growth, and we hope you find this page informative and helpful in understanding what the new fisheries law means for all of us," signed by joint owners of Polar Seafood, Miki Jonas Brøns and Bent Salling.
Meanwhile, state-owned seafood giant Royal Greenland has also expressed significant concern over the legislation changes.
In a Danish-language LinkedIn post at the beginning of May, Royal Greenland Chair Maliina Abelsen warned that "If a quota limit of 20 per cent is imposed on Royal Greenland, it will result in a loss of around DKK 200 million just in contribution margin from lost quotas and necessitate drastic savings."
"This could lead to the closure of many plants and the loss of hundreds of jobs. It will undermine our capacity to carry out our social responsibility and have serious societal consequences for a great many people," she warned.
"It is crucial for us on RG's board of directors that RG is not compared with other companies, as we are a "lifeblood" in Greenlandic society with our 38 plants throughout the country. We are owned by everyone and help bind the country together," Abelsen continued.
According to Sermitsiaq, although the new legislation means Royal Greenland will see its quotas reduced, the level of reductions and timescales have not yet been confirmed.
In 2023, the Royal Greenland suffered a loss before tax of DKK 255 million (USD 36.8 million / EUR 34.2 million) and said it would be undertaking a "turnaround project" in 2024 to get back on track, promising to slash costs by a "three-digit DKK-million amount".
