Annoying Sharks Used to Make Biodiesel in Greenland
by Jennifer Lance in Fishing, Technology
Parts of Greenland have a shark problem. When I think of sharks, I inevitably jump to images of Jaws, but the trouble with the Greenland shark is not the makings of Hollywood. Slim Allagui writes from Sisimuit, Greenland:
The Greenland shark, one of the largest species of sharks, is a nuisance to fishermen and its meat is toxic to humans, but researchers now hope the flesh can be used to create a biofuel for Inuits. Native to the cold Arctic waters, thousands of the sharks get caught and die in fishermen’s nets off Greenland every year.
The shark problem has gotten so bad, the town of Uummannaq formerly offered “$38 bounty for every shark heart,” according to Biofuels Digest. The Arctic Technology Centre (ARTEK) has proposed a new solution to the shark problem: make biodiesel from their oily flesh. Allagui explains:
Biofuel based on sharks and other sea products could supply 13 percent of energy consumption in the village of Uummannaq with its 2,450 inhabitants, according to estimates. The project could help the many isolated villages on the vast island to become self-sufficient in terms of energy. In Uummannaq, the Greenland shark represents more than half of the waste disposed of by the local fishermen.
Animal rights activists, specifically the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, are not supporting the project and do not see the Greenland shark as such a problem for fisherman. Whether sharks are specifically killed for biodiesel or the biofuel is made from already disposed fish waste, which contains large amounts of fat, environmental groups would like to see “other sustainable energy projects undertaken instead”. Greenland has been looking towards hyrdroelectricity as a source of renewable energy for the country.
Related Posts:
Posted on Jul 30, 2009
Activism, biodiesel, Biofuels, fish waste, Greenland, sharks, wwf
About the Author
Jennifer Lance
Jennifer lives on 160 acres off-the-grid in a home built with her own two hands (and several more skilled pairs of hands) from forest fire salvaged timber. Her home is powered by a micro-hydro turbine, and she has been a vegetarian for 21 years. She graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in art education and has been teaching art to children for over 16 years. Jennifer is the founder and editor of Eco Child's Play.3 Responses to “Annoying Sharks Used to Make Biodiesel in Greenland”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
[...] fish will then be processed for oil. “Our new Brownsville facility allows us to explore a system-level solution for producing [...]
Leave a Reply
Subscribe and Share
Get Podcast Updates via:
David - green thoughts
Twitter: @PlanetThoughts
Jul 31, 2009
Hmm, I think we should grind all animal flesh into biofuel so we can keep driving and heating, starting with sharks and other annoying species, and ending with human beings. The last person left, in order to self-convert into biofuel, will need to jump into the grinder her/himself, thus leaving some excess biofuel for the next intelligent species that evolves on this planet.
What do you think?
Ausearth
Aug 01, 2009
soilent based fuel. At what point does one stop converting the earths living systems to co2