Queen Victoria Sea the Sjuøyane in Svalbard and as far east as Rudolf Island in the Franz Josef Archipelago. The islands of Kvitøya and Victoria Island are located at the southern limit of this Arctic sea. To the south lies the Barents Sea. Queen Victoria Sea The Queen Victoria Sea (, "Morye Korolevy Viktorii") is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from northeast of Svalbard to northwest Franz Josef Land. It is obstructed by ice most of the year. This sea is named after Queen Victoria. Russian Arctic explorer Valentin Akkuratov claimed that a branch of the Gulf Stream reached
East Siberian Sea scarce due to the harsh climate. The summer plankton bloom is short but intense, producing 5 million tonnes of plankton in August and September, whereas the annual production is 7 million tonnes. The nutrients in water are mostly provided by river discharges and coastal erosion. The plankton species are dominated by the Pacific species of copepods. The sea shores and icefields host ringed seals ("Phoca hispida"), bearded seals ("Erignathus barbatus") and walruses ("Odobenus rosmarus") along with their predator, polar bear ("Ursus maritimus"). Birds include seagulls, uria and cormorants. Sea waters are often visited by bowhead whale ("Balaena mysticetus"), gray whale