Oqaatsut (old spelling: ''Oqaitsut''), formerly Rodebay or Rodebaai, is a settlement in

Avannaata Avannaata (, da, Det Nordlige, lit=The Northern) is a municipality of Greenland created on 1 January 2018 from the bulk of the former Qaasuitsup municipality. It encompasses an area of 522,700 km2 and has 10,726 inhabitants. Geography In ...

municipality, in western

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. It had 29 inhabitants in 2020. The modern name of the settlement is

Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to: * Greenlandic language * West Greenlandic West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...

for "

Cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

s". The village is served by the communal all-purpose

Pilersuisoq Pilersuisoq is a chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, a major division of the Parliament of Greenland, state-owned KNI (Greenland Trade), KNI conglomerate. Like its parent company, it is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), the list of ...

store.

Geography

The settlement is located on a small peninsula jutting off the mainland into eastern

Disko Bay Disko Bay ( kl, Qeqertarsuup tunua; da, DiskobugtenChristensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland. ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large ...

( kl, Qeqertarsuup Tunua), 14 km north of

Ilulissat Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the t ...

. The settlement itself faces the shore of the small Akuliarusinnguaq bay, bounded to the north by Qeqertaq island, one of several islands with that name − 'qeqertaq' means 'island' in Greenlandic. Further to the east, the Paakitsup Nunaa highland on the mainland separates the area from Sikuiuitsoq Fjord. Sermeq Avannarleq, a glacier flowing from the

Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( da, Grønlands indlandsis, kl, Sermersuaq) is a vast body of ice covering , roughly near 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is sometimes referred to as an ice cap, or under the term ''inland ice'', or its Danish equiva ...

empties into the fjord approximately 22 km east of Oqaatsut. Paakitsup Nunaa gives way to a marshy lowland in the south, with several lakes, the largest of which are Qoortusuup Tasia, Kuuttaap Tasia, and Kangerluarsuup Tasia Qalleq. Further south, the highlands of Iviangernarsuit and Akinnaq due east of

Ilulissat Airport Ilulissat Airport ( kl, Mittarfik Ilulissat, da, Ilulissat Lufthavn); () is a minor international airport serving Ilulissat, Greenland, the entire Disko Bay Region, the North and West Greenland. It is the 59th largest airport in the Nordic co ...

are split by the Uujuup Kuua river valley. To the north, the waters of Disko Bay channel into the Sullorsuaq Strait between the large

Alluttoq Island Alluttoq Island ( da, Arveprinsen Ejland) is a large , uninhabitedDisko Island Disko Island ( kl, Qeqertarsuaq, da, Diskoøen) is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. It has an area of ,Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

s. The original

blubber Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. Description Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for pa ...

house, cooperage, and storehouse are still in use. When the

fish processing The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...

plant of

Royal Greenland Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland, spun off from Kalaallit Niuerfiat in 1990 but still wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processi ...

providing employment to the majority of families was closed, Oqaatsut found itself on the verge of depopulation.Sermitsiaq, 2010/03/04
/ref> In 2000 a new

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

company (Rodebay Fish ApS) was founded by the local fishermen, ensuring survival of the settlement.

Transport

Due to the proximity of Ilulissat Airport, there is no air connection between Oqaatsut and Ilulissat.

Air Greenland Air Greenland A/S (formerly named Grønlandsfly), also known as Greenlandair, is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, owned by the Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 32 aircraft, including 1 airliner used for transatlantic and ch ...

operates government contract flights to villages farther north:

Qeqertaq Qeqertaq (according to the old spelling ''K'eĸertaĸ'') is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located on an island off the southern shore of the Nuussuaq Peninsula in an inlet of Sullorsuaq Strait. Founded in 183 ...

and

Saqqaq Saqqaq (old spelling: ''Sarqaq'') is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. Founded in 1755 as Solsiden, Saqqaq had 132 inhabitants in 2020. The village's Kalaallisut name is a translation of the Danish meaning "Sunny Si ...

. Settlement flights in the Disko Bay are unique in that they are operated only during winter and spring. During summer and autumn, when the waters of Disko Bay are navigable, communication between settlements is by sea only, serviced by

Diskoline Disko Line A/S is a passenger and freight ferry line in western Greenland. It was founded in 2004DiskolineAbout/ref> as a small freight company. Complementary transport services Diskoline provides sea transport services on contract with the ...

.Diskoline timetable
The ferry links Oqaatsut with Qeqertaq, Saqqaq, and Ilulissat.

Population

The population of Oqaatsut has decreased by a quarter since the 1990 levels, levelling off in the 2000s.Statistics Greenland

References

{{Settlements in Greenland Villages of Ilulissat Disko Bay Populated places in Greenland Populated places of Arctic Greenland Avannaata