The nature reserve covers all of Nordaustlandet, Kong Karls Land, Kvitøya, Sjuøyane, Storøya, Lågøya, Wilhelm Island, Wahlbergøya and a small section of the north-east corner of Spitsbergen.

The nature reserve is used by scientists and tourists, the latter commonly sailing eastwards along Hinlopen Strait or round Nordaustlandet.

[1] There are some cultural heritage sites within the reserve, including a Russian Orthodox cross on Krossøya, and Andréeneset on Kvitøya, the starting point for the S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897.

At Alkefjleet, Brünnich's guillemots have a nesting ground, and also brent geese can be found breeding in the reserve, as can Sabine's and ivory gulls.

[2] A large part of the reserve, including the sea-cliffs, has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding population of 80–90 pairs of ivory gulls.