The Site is a marine archipelago whose shallow waters are dotted with some 220 skerries, islets and islands featuring wet meadows, dunes and dune slacks, and brackish marshes in some parts. The climate and topography provide a diverse and varied vegetation cover, which however remains low-lying apart from some deciduous forest on a few of the islands. The Site is one of several important areas along the coast for staging, breeding, moulting and wintering seabirds from large areas of the Arctic. Common eider (Somateria mollissima), red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) and white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) breed in the archipelago, while the vulnerable long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) and Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) use it for staging. The near-threatened Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) and the Northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) can also be found in the Site. European otters (Lutra lutra) have stable breeding populations. Traditionally the Site was used for collection of common eider down and eggs, but except for the sporadic collection of eggs, this practice has ceased. Other human uses include recreational activities, fishing, and sheep grazing. The archipelago is among the largest coastal conservation areas in Norway.