The ponds of Ecopark Vaya are the legacy of the former fish farm by Lake Burgas. Once the canals had been cleared in 2015 and 2016 and the ponds restored and filled with water again, life had to return to them.
In 2017 the ponds were stocked with carp, silver carp, tench, grass carp and sturgeon. Each of these species has its role in the water body, and the selection was not accidental.
The carp is the traditional fish of Bulgarian waters – a hardy species that roots in the bottom and stirs up the sediment. The tench is a native species that loves calm, well-vegetated water and is considered an indicator of a water body in good condition. Silver carp feed on plankton and algae, and grass carp on aquatic vegetation, so the two species help to naturally limit excessive overgrowth and algal blooms. Sturgeon are among the most ancient and most endangered fish in the world, and their presence in the waters of the ecopark is a contribution to the conservation of this exceptional group.
Stocking matters far beyond the fish themselves. Fish are the main food of many of Vaya’s inhabitants – pelicans, cormorants, herons, grebes, white-tailed eagles, otters. Water rich in fish means water rich in birds and mammals. Maintaining the fish populations is therefore part of caring for the whole ecosystem.
Some of the ecopark’s ponds are also open for sport fishing, which is combined with care for the water bodies and with the principle that nature comes first.
The activity was carried out with our own funds, without external financing. In the following years the stocking was repeated according to the condition of the ponds, so that the fish populations remain stable.
Today the waters of Ecopark Vaya are full of life – below the surface and above it. Every pelican diving for fish by the shore is also a reminder of how closely everything in a wetland is connected.
Project summary
Project: Stocking of the ponds
Year: 2017, with subsequent stocking
Location: Ecopark Vaya
Activity: stocking with carp, silver carp, tench, grass carp and sturgeon; maintaining stable fish populations as the basis of the food chain
Funding: own funds and volunteer work
Status: completed, ongoing
Photo: Sanket Jawali / Unsplash