Halvmåneøya, as part of Edgeøya, has been a nature preserve since 1973, and visitation is strictly regulated.
The island was labelled as Abbots I. by the Muscovy Company's map (1625), and St. Jacob by Willem Jansz.
The modern Norwegian name, Halvmåneøya, is a direct translation of the old name, meaning Half Moon Island.
In 2010, traffic has been banned on most of the island, except a small area around Bjørneborg, a hunting station originally built in 1904.
Author David Roberts wrote a book sharing his research on this amazing survival story, Four Against The Arctic.