A person onboard a vessel in Svalbard was fined 50,000 kroner after using a foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear as the boat sailed past the animal in a fjord a thousand kilometres from the North Pole. The governor of the archipelago confirmed the fine.
Local regulations prohibit needless disturbance of polar bears, which have been protected since 1972. Analysts note that the archipelago hosts around 250 polar bears according to the last 2015 count.
Governor Lars Fause said the vessel’s crew spotted a polar bear resting on land and, in a moment of curiosity, activated the foghorn. The bear was roused, moved to another spot and eventually returned to its slumber. The individual accepted the penalty imposed.
This is not the first enforcement action; in 2024 a tourist received an 11,500 kroner fine for approaching a walrus too closely. The Svalbard Environment Act mandates all traffic minimise disturbance of fauna such as polar bears, seals, whales, reindeer and arctic foxes.
