In the low arctic Pacific region the number of seabirds is said to be about 51 million in summer and 8 million in winter (Sowl and Bartonek 1974). No similar estimate is available for low arctic West Greenland, but I suggest that it is much lower in summer and slightly higher in winter.
The human population of Greenland, now numbering about 50,000 individuals, is restricted to the seashore, where all cities and minor outposts are situated. Although shooting seabirds is an ancient tradition in Greenland, the true land-birds, which are few in number, are usually left alone. Seabirds collected by shooting provide an important source of food that the Greenlanders could not do without. Since special shooting and hunting regulations have not been developed in Greenland, these activities often resemble a sort of slaughter rather than true hunting. There is no game act in Greenland, and practically all birds can be shot. This condition is similar to that in Canada, where according to Section 5(7) of the Migratory Birds Regulations (Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa 1973) "an Indian or Inuk may at any time, without a permit, take auks, auklets, guillemots, murres, puffins and scoters and their eggs for human food and clothing." Much the same sort of hunting privileges exist for native peoples of Alaska. What is still worse, however, is the enormous illegal shooting of ducks, geese, swans, and cranes that is known to take place in arctic North America, but is largely ignored by police and game authorities. Bartonek et al. (1971) described this situation very well for Alaska. In Greenland, it is not possible any more to distinguish between "native Eskimos" and Greenlanders (including Danes working in the country), but the attitude toward animals among the inhabitants is the same as it has always been—a food source to hunt and kill.
With a rapidly growing human population, and a readily available supply of guns and speedboats for hunting, the whole natural ecosystem is beginning to break down, and it cannot be permitted to continue. The provincial government is aware of this fact, and various legal enactments have been issued from both the government and the local magistrates. However, since the size of the police force (mostly Greenlanders) is small, it is of little help for the preservation of wildlife, and sometimes even the policemen themselves do not know the local ordinances. The result has been that seabirds, previously profusely flourishing, have considerably decreased in number in West Greenland.
I have previously described the shooting and hunting of seabirds in Greenland and the statutory provisions issued to protect them (see Salomonsen 1970). At present, the following seabirds and their eggs are totally protected: whooper swan; common puffin, Fratercula arctica; and harlequin duck, Histrionicus histrionicus. Some other species have a closed season or are protected in certain parts of the country: snow goose, Anser caerulescens; common eider; king eider, Somateria spectabilis; great cormorant; dovekie, Plautus alle; black guillemot; and thick-billed murre, Uria lomvia. Furthermore, all catching and hunting of birds within 2 km of breeding colonies of murres and kittiwakes is prohibited. Bird sanctuaries where hunting, catching, and collecting of eggs and down are prohibited are Avsigsut, Nunatsiaq, and Satuarssunguit islands, which are scattered in Disko Bay, and Tasiussarssuaq Fjord (the inner part of Arfersiorfik Fjord, south of Egedesminde).
However, the Greenland Provincial Council has been alarmed by the serious decline in the numbers of seabirds due to increases in human persecution, and it has decided to introduce a game law similar to those in Denmark and other European countries. The preparation of this legislation was left to me, and a draft of this Greenland game act has been issued (Salomonsen 1974); the new law was passed in parliament in 1977 and went into force on 1 January 1978.
It is not possible to review in detail the different parts of the new law, but certain important points should be mentioned. In northern parts of West Greenland (north of Egedesminde) the sea is ice-covered for 7-8 months a year, and seabird hunting is therefore not possible outside the breeding season. Because of this, it was necessary to allow some hunting of murres, eiders, and immature gulls during the breeding period, but away from nesting locations. Consumption of seabirds is to be limited to local residents, and sales to canneries for shipment to other cities is to cease. Previously, canneries in northwest Greenland exported large numbers of thick-billed murres to South Greenland—e.g., 25,606 birds in 1971; and 30,029 in 1972 (Anonymous 1974:64). This marketing of murres will end.
Other parts of the proposal important for seabirds include:
• A general closed season extending from 15 June to 15 August.
• Prohibition of shooting at breeding colonies of seabirds, as is in force at present (cf. above).
• Eggs of terns and gulls can be collected for food in southwest Greenland to 1 July, and in northwest Greenland to 10 July; fulmar and murre eggs can also be collected in northwest Greenland.