Kongsfjorden

Aerial view of Kongsfjorden
Newly hatched common eiders
Common eiders
Ny-Ålesund, the closest settlement, with a view of Kongsfjorden
Terretorial Arctic tern
Nesting female eider
Glaucous gull nest
Multiple female eiders nesting, blending into the environment
Barnacle goose
Red phalaropes
Glaoucous gull chick
Arctic tern nest
Great skua nest
Arctic tern "nest"

Kongsfjorden

  • Country: 
    Norway
  • Site number: 
    315
  • Area: 
    710 ha
  • Designation date: 
    24-07-1985
  • Coordinates: 
    78°56'N 12°10'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

The Site is located in the inner parts of Kongsfjorden in western Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago. It consists of ten islands covered with rich, grassy vegetation and small freshwater ponds, as well as some skerries and surrounding sea. The vegetation provides the basis for a sizable breeding colony of barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis). The islands are also important breeding locations for common eiders (Somateria mollissima) as well as pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus). Kongsfjorden hosts species considered to be rare or threatened, such as the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). The Site is used as a study area, with Ny-Ålesund, an international research station, located nearby. A small visitor centre provides information about ongoing research activities. Collecting of eider down is still practiced. There is no use of the Ramsar site for recreation or tourism, and the regulations for the nature reserve ban visits from 15 May to 15 August because of the birds’ breeding season.

Administrative region: 
Svalbard

  • National legal designation: 
    • Nature Reserve - Kongsfjorden
    • bird sanctuary - Kongsfjorden
  • Last publication date: 
    23-06-2023