Ryke Yseøyane is a group of several small islands off the east coast of Edgeøya. The islands are named after the Dutch whaler Ryke Yse of Vlieland, who discovered them about 1640-45. The group was first marked by Hendrick Doncker, of Amsterdam, in 1663. Two Norwegian polar bear hunters wintered on Ryke Yseøyane for two subsequent winters in 1967-69. During the second winter, one of them was lost in drifting ice.