Kunoy

Kunoy

Kunoy is an island between Kalsoy in the west and Borðoy in the east in the northeastern part of the Faroe Islands. The meaning of the island's name is Woman Island. Kunoy has two settlements today, Kunoy on the west coast and Haraldssund on the southeast coast. Since 1988 they are connected by a tunnel. A third settlement, Skarð, was the place of a fishing accident on Christmas Eve 1913, in which seven men died, all the male population with exception of a 14-year-old and a 70-year-old. The area is now deserted as the women decided to move to Haraldssund. The coastline at the northern tip of the island has been designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. It's important as a breeding ground for seabirds, notably European Storm Petrels and Black Guillemots. The brown rat, which was deliberately introduced to the island by people from Klaksvík in 1914, has since caused enormous damage to the bird population, especially the Atlantic Puffin.