Karlsøy (Northern Sami: Gálssa suohkan) is an island municipality in Troms county, Norway.

[8] The analysis of the census data revealed that the family names of these people such as Aderup, Blix and Rosenlund were foreign-sounding.

[9][10] On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county.

[12] The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the small Karlsøya island (Old Norse: Kalsøe) since the first Karlsøy Church was built there.

The official blazon is "Azure, an eagle head erased argent" (Norwegian: I blått et avrevet sølv ørnehode).

This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is the head of a white-tailed eagle.

The eagle head has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.

The eagle head was chosen since one of Europe's largest colonies of these birds is found on the island of Nord-Fugløya in the municipality.

Karlsøy is among the world's most important exporters of dried and salted cod, with Portugal, Spain, and Brazil among the main markets.

The highest point in the municipality is the 1,049.3-metre (3,443 ft) tall mountain Soltindan on the island of Ringvassøy.

[1] The islands of Rebbenesøya and Ringvassøya are split (as was Reinøya before 2008), with the southern part belonging to neighboring Tromsø Municipality.

Today, when roads have replaced the boats, the situation is different which is why the Norwegian government transferred all of the island of Reinøy to the Karlsøy Municipality on 1 January 2008.

Torsvåg lighthouse has been recording temperature since 1933, and is situated on the northwestern tip of Vanna island.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Karlsøy is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms.

Here is a list of people who have held this position:[43][44] The municipal centre is at Hansnes, which can be reached through an undersea tunnel from Tromsø, and the drive is about one hour.