Atuagagdliutit - 30.12.1991, Blaðsíða 12

AALISAAT/INUIT HUNTERS
NR. 8 1991
The destroyed markets
Many sealskin unsaleable
The Tannery of Green-
land (KNA), one of the
world’s best equipped
tanneries today has dif-
ficulties ælling its Pro-
ducts which are mainly
made from sealskin. At
the end of the financial
year of 1990 the Tannery
of Greenland reported
its stock of raw materiale
to amont to 70,000 seal-
skin.
Frederik Møller from
KNA tells Aalisaat/Inuit
Hunters that apart from the
many untanned sealskin in
stock there are many difle-
rent kinds of fur which can-
not be used to full advan tage
by the workroom.
In 1990 KNA received se-
alskin from 46,ooo ringed
seals, 18,500 harp seals,
1,500 hooded seals, 2,000
bluebacks, 544 bearded se-
als as well as salted sealskin
in 250 barreis. In addition
KNA has bought 173 polar
bearskin, 23 hides from mu-
skoxen, 900 artic fox, and 50
white artic fox.
Very modern
Frederik Møller, KNA, says
that the tannery has a veiy
modern tanning installa-
tion. Many different kinds
of sealskin may be tanned in
many different colours.
When the sealskin and furs
are delivered to KNA they
are washed very thoroughly
and then go through a veiy
modern tanning process
where they are dyed with
different colours, and finally
they are all treated in a way
which leaves them very soft,
Frederik Møller says and
continues, Tannery of Gre-
enland is probably the only
tannery in which the tan-
ning and sewing take place
under the same roof. Tanne-
ries in other countries may
have different divisions in
different cities, or even in
different countries, and this
is not how we work. When
the mate ri als arrive at one
door, they leave by another
door as finished goods. The
whole production process
takes place in this budding,
Frederik Møller says.
The tannery is very welle-
quipped. During the last two
years KNA has experimen-
ted with dyes of different co-
lours. When all the sealskin
have been through the was-
hing and tanning process,
they are ready for use in the
workroom. One of the crite-
ria used for deciding what
the sealskin will used for is
the length of the hair of the
individual sealskin.
Modern sealskin
The many different kinds of
sealskin in different colours
become coats, waistcoats,
trousers, caps, slippers, etc.
in the workroom.
The hair side of the indivi-
dual sealskin may be bluish
while the blubber side has
been dyed a different colour.
Such tanning is very new
and apparently too little
known although KNA has
concentrated on the Euro-
The Tannery of Greenlandproduces coats, trousers, caps, skirts, very smartly designed, but
sales are apparently veiy limited.
pean m arket for the last two
years through its own sales
outlet.
It is very impressive to see
the many different products
in widely different colours,
and it may be quite difficult
to guess the origin of the in-
dividual sealskin. But all of
KNA’s products are marked
to show which type of seal-
skin it is, and where it has
been produced.
Expensive, forbidden
sealskin
The production of clothes of
different sorts is quite natu-
ral for Greenland as this is a
way of utilizing the natural
products of the country, but
apparently it is not an inex-
pensive form of production.
In those locations on the
coast that have no alternati-
ve sources of income, fisher-
men and hunters seli seal-
skin a great part of the year
as this is the only product
available that can be sold.
But the price of sealskin is
mainly a dir eet subsidy in
which the price of the actual
finished goods supplies only
a fractional amount.
The tannery produces
coats, trousers,caps,skirts
veiy smartly designed, but
sales are apparently very li-
mited.
It is obvious that the costs
in connection with the pur-
chase and production of se-
alskin in Greenland are veiy
high. An example: In 1990
70,000 sealskin were pur-
chased. The costs included
the purchase of the sealskin,
initial treatment at the pla-
ce where it was purchased,
packaging for shipment,
transport, direct and indi-
rect production costs, etc.
The costs are veiy high.
Despite the veiy modern
equipment aat the tanneiy
and the equally modern de-
sign of the sealskin pro-
ducts, it is still veiy difficult
to sell these products due to
the many campaigns against
the use of sealskin staged by
the many animal welfare as-
sociations as well as the or-
ganizations for environmen-
tal protection.
For example, nowadays it
is illegal to import sealskin
products whether the ani-
mals belong to an endange-
red species or not, and such
products may be confisca-
ted. In Canada certain fana-
tical animal welfare associa-
tions conduct threat cam-
paigns against the use of fur
or sealsldn products for clot-
hing. At the moment the
British Parliament is again
preparing to renew discus-
sions on sealing.
In April a course on the use o f the exploding harpoon was organized for owners o f vessels
with harpoon guns.
Whaling prohibited following
the end of course
Courses Organized for Owners of Vessels with Harpoon
Guns
In April a course on the use
of the exploding harpoon
grenade - the hot harpoon -
was organized for owners of
vessels with harpoon guns
in Sisimiut, Nuuk and Qa-
qortoq. Although the parti-
cipants received a certificate
attesting their attendance
at the course, it is still illegal
for them to go whaling.
In the beginning of June a
similar course will be orga-
nized for the owners of ves-
sels with harpoon guns in
Ilulissat.
From May 1,1990 it beca-
me law for the owners of
vessels with harpoon guns
to use the hot harpoon for
whaling, but unfortunately
the authorities were not
prepared for the introduc-
tion of the hot harpoon.
Originally April i was the
date on which the law on the
use of the hot harpoon came
into force, but as it was ne-
cessary to arrange courses
for the coming users, the da-
te was changed to May 1.
The Directorate of Fishe-
ries and Industiy together
with KNAPK planned and
arranged courses for owners
of vessels with harpoon
guns from the municipaliti-
es of Sisimiut and Maniitsoq
in Sisimiut, for those from
Nuuk municipality in Nuuk,
and for owners from Paa-
miut, Narsaq, Qaqortoq and
Nanortalik in Qaqortoq.
A similar course will be
held in Ilulissat for owners
from Kangaatsiaq, Aasiaat,
Qeqertarsuaq, Ilulissat and
Qasigiannguit.
An expensive course
When all the courses have
been held 75 to 100 fisher-
men and hunters will have
acquired a certificate docu-
menting participation in the
course on the use of the hot
harpoon.The total costs of
the courses are estimated at
no less than DKK 400,000
including board and lodging,
allowances, travelling ex-
penses, etc.
The aim of the courses
has been to explain the tech-
nical construction, the secu-
rity mechanism and the use
of the hot harpoon to the fis-
hermen and the hunters.
All participants are issued
with a certificate which will
serve as proof of their ability
to use the hot harpoon and
also as doeumentation when
ordering the harpoon, if this
becomes necessary.
The participants not
allowed to nunt any
whales
Strangely enough it is still
illegal for the fishermen and
the hunters to hunt whales
although they have all parti-
cipated in the aforementio-
ned course.
According to information
from the Directorate of Fis-
heries and Industiy (ED) an
agreement between ED and
KNI (Greenland Trading
Company) has been made to
the effeet that KNI will
handle distribution and sale
of the hot harpoon. Unfor-
tunately hot harpoons have
(only ?) been distributed to
the big towns with the result
that the users cannot buy
hot harpoons from all KNI
shops.
We expected problems
with the introduction of the
hot harpoon, and unfortu-
nately our misgivings have
not been unfounded, Alfred
Jakobsen says and continu-
es:
It is most regrettable that
fishermen and hunters are
not allowed to catch a piked
whale today although they
could easily do so in several
places. But if they did, the
catch would be considered il-
legal if they had not used the
hot harpoon. In this way the
local population is again ex-
periencing an unnecessaiy
shortage of whale meat even
if the hunters were quite ca-
pable of catching the whale,
Alfred Jakobsen concludes.