Sealed with a kill: Images capture life of Inuit fishermen who face -35C temperatures and icebergs off coast of Greenland hunting seals in brutal battle to survive
- Pictures taken by French photographer Theo Giacometti show the harsh existences of Greenland’s fishermen
- The remote Inuit community in the village of Akunnaaq has a population of 70 which largely relies on hunting
- Hunters brave freezing cold temperatures, icebergs and other obstacles to catch seals and often narwhals
Remarkable photos capture a glimpse into the lives of the Inuit practice of seal hunting in Greenland – where hunters face a daily battle to survive.
The pictures, taken by French photographer Theo Giacometti, 29, follow the lives of a group of hunters braving extreme conditions to provide for their community in the remote village of Akunnaaq.
Shocking pictures show the fishermen using basic techniques including spearing the animals and shooting them to land their catch.
They can then be seen carving up the beasts on the powder white ice so that the flesh can be taken off and sold and the meat traded and doled out among their friends and relatives.
Despite temperatures of -35C in January the hunters were able to catch four seals – although they had been hoping to catch a narwhal.
The seal’s liver, kidneys and pancreas will be reserved for the hunter, who will eat them raw. The community spirit is very strong in this village and every animal hunted is shared among all those who need it. Even the dogs will get their share.
Their remote settlement of 70 inhabitants, with no roads, hotel, restaurants or doctors, is almost entirely reliant on hunting as a source of food.
A hunter carves off a piece of seal flesh to give to a local resident who puts it in a bag and takes it home for personal consumption
Fishermen were forced to brave extreme cold and harsh sea conditions to catch a meager haul of only four seals for the whole village
After a successful day’s fishing and with the light drawing in fast the fishermen work quickly to carve up the stricken beast and apportion it among the villagers
Two fishermen drag the carcass of a dead seal up a jetty and onto dry land after bringing in their catch for the community
Fishermen use a combination of techniques to kill the seals including modern methods such as shooting them with a rifle
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More traditional fishermen stick to the long-standing practice of spear fishing using a large wooden pole to snare the seals
The body of a dead seal floats in the water after being speared to death by a fisherman in the golden light of the early morning
The hunters let absolutely none of the animal go to waste, stripping it back to the bones to ensure they have every gram of meat
Some of the tools used by the fishermen lie freezing on the deck of the boat including their highly modern sniper rifle
The entire community will get a share of any catch brought in by the fishermen and even the villagers’ dogs will get the scraps
A dog resting after feasting on the scraps of the morning’s catch after the group of seals were brought in by the fishermen
The hunters themselves are given the right to take home the liver of the seals or the kidneys which are high in nutrients
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