![]() Administratively, this archipelago in the high Arctic is not part of any country, but forms an unincorporated area administered by a governor appointed by the Norwegian government. This became the turning point for the archipelago. In that era, some 50,000 bowhead whales, the longest-living mammal on the planet, were taken by the Dutch.Īt the end of World War I, the 1920 Svalbard Treaty gave Norway sovereignty over the archipelago. By the end of the 18th century, Europe's insatiable demand for oil had almost wiped out the bowhead whales to near extinction. ![]() One voyage in 1612, a whaler ship reported that the Barents Sea was so abundant with whales that the ship's bow parted the whales as though it were cutting through pack ice. From the 17th to 19th centuries, whalers ventured to the seas around Svalbard to hunt for whales their thick blubber transformed into oil for lighting up the streets of London, Amsterdam and Paris. But this remarkable showcase of the Arctic region has an ugly past, exploited by human invaders. The group of islands are mostly uninhabited, covering an area of 61,020 square kilometres. Just 9° south from the North Pole, Svalbard is in the high latitude from 74° to 81° north and from 10° to 35° east longitude spanning across an expanse of bewildering wilderness. As you view the following pages, you will be putting yourself at risk of being seduced to make the journey- the beauty of the Arctic is addictive. Since then, the journey to this remote outpost has been my annual pilgrimage each July and August. My first voyage through the islands were in 2013. Svalbard is nature’s marvellous showcase of our planet’s north polar region it is like a one-stop mega mall to see all the flora and fauna of the Arctic.
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