Hi, and welcome to my four-part blog on my research placement for BIO299 which took place in spring 2026. My name is Jonas, and this was my 6th and final semester for my bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Bergen. Grab a coffee or tea and relax, I’m going to take you through what it was like, teaming up with a research group and raising the anchor for an 18-day journey out to sea.
Getting There
We flew to Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, where RV Kronprins Håkon, our ship, was waiting for us to board.
As we exited the airport at Longyearbyen, the first official polar bear warning stood together with a guide to distant places across the seas. Beside the signpost we waited, experiencing the very first of our meetings with the icy, unforgiving wind. Growing up with Bear Grylls on the discovery channels (I can only speak for myself), we wasted no time. Improvising, adapting and overcoming, we generated bodily heat with our halfhearted, but effective jumping jacks, waiting for the taxi that would bring us to our ship.
Our mission was to map Atlantic cod and haddock in the Barents Sea, along with the other species caught in the trawls. The collected data forms the basis for setting fish quotas for the following year, which makes it really important work!
