Greenland became the centre of an unusual dispute over one of the world's longest-lived vertebrates after the municipal council of Avannaata approved a proposal to cull 1,000 Greenland sharks.
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council → become → sharks
Under the scheme, fishermen would have received 300 Danish kroner, about $45, for each shark heart they brought in.
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they → receive → heart
The proposal was intended to address complaints that Greenland sharks damage fishing gear and take fish from fishing lines, with some fishermen reporting substantial losses from damaged equipment.
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fishermen → intend → equipment
But the plan raised concerns because Greenland sharks can live for centuries, grow extremely slowly and may not reach sexual maturity until around 150 years of age.
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sharks → raise → age
The proposed bounty was subsequently abandoned after Greenland's government questioned whether the municipality had the legal authority to introduce it.
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municipality → propose → it
Why Greenland fishers want the sharks removed
Greenland sharks are regularly encountered by fishermen targeting species including Greenland halibut and cod.
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sharks → want → halibut
They can become caught in longlines, gillnets and trawling equipment, while also taking fish caught on hooks.
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They → catch → hooks
For fishermen operating in remote Arctic waters, damaged or lost equipment can be expensive to replace.
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equipment → operate → waters
Ilulissat-area fisherman Henrik Jensen told The Guardian that he had lost about 6,000 hooks and that his losses could reach around 30,000 Danish kroner, roughly $4,500, in a single day.
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losses → tell → day
Other fishermen have also described the cost of replacing lines.
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fishermen → describe → lines
Timotheus Petersen, chairman of the fishing association in Kullorsuaq, said a longline can cost about 1,599 Danish kroner and that losing one can force fishermen to stop fishing until they obtain replacement equipment.
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they → say → equipment
For some fishing communities, encounters with the animals can translate into lost gear, lost fishing time and lower catches.
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encounters → translate → gear
Avannaata approved a 1,000-shark bounty
The proposal was approved earlier in 2026 by the municipal council of Avannaata Kommunia, which covers much of north-west Greenland and includes Ilulissat.
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which → approve → Ilulissat
The scheme offered fishermen 300 Danish kroner for each Greenland shark heart, with a target of 1,000 sharks.
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scheme → offer → sharks
The proposed 300,000-kroner programme was to be financed through the municipality's pest-control budget.
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programme → finance → budget
Avannaata Mayor Lars Erik Gabrielsen said the intention was to protect fishermen's incomes and catches.
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intention → say → incomes
The municipality also pointed to historical bounty schemes in Greenland as precedent for attempts to reduce local shark numbers.
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municipality → point → numbers
However, the proposed scheme did not proceed.
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scheme → propose → ?
The government questioned the legality of the plan
The bounty was abandoned after Greenland's government questioned whether Avannaata had the legal authority to introduce the scheme.
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Avannaata → question → scheme
Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat reported in April 2026 that Avannaata would not introduce the bounty because the scheme had no legal basis.
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scheme → report → basis
The conservation organisation had criticised the proposal, arguing that a cull could harm the species and undermine Greenland's efforts to present its fisheries as sustainable.
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cull → criticise → fisheries
The distinction is important as the municipality approved the proposal, but the planned cull was subsequently dropped before the 1,000-shark target could be carried out.
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target → approve → proposal
The broader debate over Greenland sharks and fishing remains unresolved, and a future cull has not been ruled out.
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cull → remain → sharks
Greenland sharks can live for more than 400 years
The animal at the centre of the dispute is the Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus.
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animal → live → dispute
A landmark 2016 study published in Science used radiocarbon dating of eye-lens tissue from 28 Greenland sharks to estimate their ages.
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study → publish → ages
The researchers estimated that the largest shark in the study was 392 years old, with an uncertainty of 120 years, and concluded that Greenland sharks are the longest-lived vertebrates known to science.
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sharks → estimate → science
The research also estimated that the sharks reach sexual maturity at approximately 156 years, with an uncertainty of 22 years.
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sharks → estimate → years
For general descriptions of the species, scientific and government sources therefore commonly describe Greenland sharks as capable of living for around or more than 400 years.
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sources → describe → years
Their extremely slow life cycle makes them vulnerable
The sharks' extraordinary lifespan is accompanied by an exceptionally slow life history.
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lifespan → make → history
The 2025 Canadian government assessment of the species says Greenland sharks have remarkably slow growth and late maturity, with a generation time likely to be between 150 and 200 years.
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sharks → say → time
It describes these characteristics as making the species particularly vulnerable to overfishing.
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species → describe → overfishing
The species is globally classified as Vulnerable.
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species → classify → ?
Its population size and trends are still poorly understood, but scientists consider human activities, particularly fishing-related mortality, to be significant threats.
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activities → understand → ?
That biology is what makes the proposed removal of 1,000 sharks particularly controversial.
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removal → make → sharks
A species that takes well over a century to reach reproductive age cannot replace lost adults quickly.
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that → take → adults
The sharks are already caught as bycatch
Greenland sharks are affected by fishing even when they are not deliberately targeted.
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they → catch → fishing
The Canadian government assessment says the species is caught incidentally in trawl, longline and gillnet fisheries throughout its range.
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species → say → range
Available estimates suggest that at least 3,500 Greenland sharks are caught as bycatch globally each year, although the true figure is probably higher because monitoring and reporting remain incomplete.
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monitoring → suggest → bycatch
Greenland sharks were hunted for centuries for their liver oil, particularly in Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia.
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sharks → hunt → Greenland
The Canadian assessment notes that the animals remain the target of some small-scale fisheries in Greenland and Iceland.
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animals → note → Greenland
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
