Neko Harbour

Capitán Fliess Refuge
Refuge
View of Neko Harbour
Capitán Fliess Refuge Location of Capitán Fliess Refuge inAntarctic Peninsula
Coordinates:64°50′41″S62°31′48″W
Country	Argentina
Location in Antarctic Peninsula	Neko Harbour Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica
Administered by	Argentine Navy
Established	1949(1949)
Type	Seasonal
Status	Operational

Glacier in Neko Harbour, Antarctica

Neko Harbour(64°50′S62°33′W) is an inlet of theAntarctic PeninsulaonAndvord Bay,situated on the west coast ofGraham Land.

Neko Harbour was discovered by Belgian explorerAdrien de Gerlacheduring the early 20th century. It was named for aScottishwhaling boat,theNeko,which operated in the area between 1911 and 1924.

Capitán Fliess Refuge

Captain Fliess Refuge(64°50′41″S62°31′48″W) was an Argentine refuge in Antarctica located in Neko Harbour in theAndvord Bayon theDanco Coast,west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The refuge was opened on April 4, 1949, and managed by theArgentine Navy.It was inaugurated together with the Penguin Observatory and the Rescue Station under the name ofRefugio Neko. The name pays tribute to the Lieutenant of the shipFelipe Fliessof theCorvette Uruguaywho rescued theSwedish Antarctic Expeditionheaded byOtto Nordenskjöld.

It was enabled and supplied by the icebreakerARA Almirante Irízarand the ship ARA Bahía Aguirre in various Antarctic campaigns. The refuge was destroyed by a storm in 2009, was rebuilt in 2011 during the 2011-2012 Antarctic summer campaign. Some Maintenance, repair and conservation of facilities were carried out to be used as support for scientific research. The refuge was washed away by a tidal wave in the 2010s, but the concrete base supports can still be seen.

Important Bird Area (IBA)

Neko Harbour has been classified as an important bird and biodiversity area byBirdLife Internationalbecause it supports abreeding colonyof more than 250 breeding pairs ofgentoo penguinsthat nest on the hill near the beach to avoid risk of being washed away by the large waves frequently generated from the calving of the nearbyglacier.Southern giant petrelsandsouth polar skuasalso nest here. The area has been also used byWeddell seals,which frequently haul out to rest.

See also

• List of Antarctic field camps

External links

• Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty Visitor Guidelines and peninsula description
• Tourism and the history of Antarctica Tourism
• "Compendium of Antarctic Peninsula visitor sites"(PDF).(162 KB),United States Environmental Protection Agency()
• Antarctica,Jeff Rubin (Lonely Planet), pp. 223 (ISBN1740590945)
• Lonely Planet episode on Neko Harbor
• Images of Neko HarborBy Rutgers University, NJ, USA.