A fishing trip in the Nuuk Fjord

On a cold and rainy September afternoon, a group of six exchange students and I set out for a fishing trip deep into the Nuuk Fjord. Earlier that morning, another group of exchange students had also been fishing and had spotted a whale, so I was extremely excited to get out there. Not so much for the fishing, which is against my principles to do, but for the possibility of spotting whales and also for the beautiful landscapes that we would sail by.

We were each given a huge floating suit to wear on the open boat, which kept us somewhat warm throughout the trip. We then set off from the marina in Nuuk at 2 PM, while waving goodbye to Per and his wife. Per had organized everything and the university was paying for the trip, so despite me not wanting to fish, it was still a free trip!

The trip out to the fishing spot took about 1,5 hours. I enjoyed the ride looking out at the beautiful landscapes and the occasional seal. It was wet for most of the way, before our captain asked us to decide which way we wanted to go. We could either sail to the place where the other team had spotted a whale, but where it was raining, or we could sail to a sunny spot with less chance of spotting a whale. Unfortunately, the majority of our team voted for the latter.

So off we set again, to the sunny part of the fjord. We stopped very close to the Qooqqut Nuan restaurant, which is a place that many tourists and locals with boats go. It’s extremely popular because of its remote location and the fact that the chef will cook the fish that you catch in the fjord, which you can then enjoy. On the other side was a few summer houses located in an area called Timmiannguit.

For the next hour, the other’s hauled up fish after fish, catching red fish and cod, while I tried to look away as much as possible. I really don’t like to see animals suffer, but I also get that most people don’t think like me (although I don’t understand why, hehe). If you absolutely must eat meat, I personally think catching it yourself is much better than buying it in a supermarket, but I still don’t want to participate in the hunt.

I was really glad when that hour was up, so we could leave the poor fish alone and get our freezing selves back to Nuuk. The trip home was much less comfortable than the trip out. It had gotten colder, windier and as we were sailing against the wind, our bodies were constantly bumping up and down as we hit the waves. I was so relieved when I finally saw Nuuk again. I must admit that I regretted going on the trip while we were on the way back, but in hindsight it was a good trip despite the fishing, the cold and the bumping. I was sad that we didn’t get to see any whales though, but It was a fun day with my fun friends and a lot of beautiful views!