POLAND

The Polish People's Republic, transitional between Central and Eastern Europe, lies between Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic and the USSR.

Although backed by mountain masses on its southern border, Poland is primarily a great glaciated plain sloping north to the Baltic Sea. Its high mountains have swift streams and some small deep lakes, but its greater area is dominated by the slow-moving rivers of the Oder and Vistula systems and thousands of shallow, lowland glacial lakes. Traditionally agricultural, its economy, aided by its thermal resources, has become largely industrial.

Poland's long standing capture fisheries in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and brackish waters, show signs of decline. Meanwhile, aquaculture (especially for carp) also of long standing in this country, has increased in importance and methods for its enhancement have improved. Sport fishing in inland waters has been encouraged by the Government, and its harvest has now surpassed that of the commercial capture fishery.

Poland is situated between 49° and 54°50'N latitudes and 14°07' and 24°08'E longitudes.

Roughly circular in shape, its greatest length (E–W) is 689 km and its greatest width (N–S) is 649 km. Its altitudinal range is from 1.8 m below sea level in the Vistula Delta to 2 499 m on Rysy Peak in the High Tatra.

Politically, Poland is bounded on the west by the German Democratic Republic for 460 km, on the south by Czechoslovakia for 1 310 km, and on the east by the USSR for 1 244 km. In addition, it is bounded on the north by the Baltic Sea for 524 km between the mouth of the Oder on the west and the Gulf of Gdansk on the east. About one-quarter of the boundaries is river-bound¹.

¹ Length of boundaries from Glowny Urzad Statystyczny, Rocznik Statystyczny, 1988

The average elevation is 173 m; 71 percent is less than 200 m, 26 percent is between 200 and 500 m, and less than 3 percent is above 500 m.

Over three-quarters of Poland has been subjected to glaciation. Most of the country consists of gently rolling plains sloping gently from the Sudetes and Carpathian mountains northwest to the Baltic, bordered by the Oder on the west and the marshy Polesic lowlands on the east.

Proceeding from south to north, it can be divided into four natural physiographic regions: (i) Southern Mountains; (ii) Central Uplands; (iii) Northern Plains and Glacial Lake Basins, and (iv) Baltic Coastal.

(i) Southern Mountains. Forming a border with Czechoslovakia on the south, are the Sudetes in the southwest and the Carpathians on the south. These mountains are separated by the Moravian Gate (or Corridor), a hilly depression opening to the north through the Oder River and south through the Morava. The Sudetes, which rise sharply to 1 520 m, are a series of short rounded massifs of granite, gneisses, quartzite, and limestone. The higher Carpathians reach 2 499 m in its eastern group, the High Tatras. This latter group, which is partly granitic, lacks glaciers but is otherwise Alpine in appearance with jagged ridges, hanging valleys, and glacial lakes. The rest of the Carpathians, of which the Beskids constitute the outer (northern) range, are mostly sedimentary rocks, more rounded, and better forested. Treeline is about 1 200 m in the eastern Carpathians, and 1 500 m in the High Tatras.

(ii) Central Uplands. North of the high mountains lies the hilly and undulating area of Silesia and the south Polish plateau which rises in places to 600 m. Much of this area is covered with fertile loam (loess).

(iii) Northern Plains. This area, stretching north to the coastlands, and constituting the larger part of Poland, is a low-lying part of the great North European Plain. It is the heartland of the country, cradling both its principal agriculture and industry. Icesheets have left a thick mantle of drift, clay, sand and gravels which have filled in many of the depressions in the southern part. The lower or northern part of these plains called the Baltic or Glacial Lake Region, is, however, occupied by frontal moraine ridges to 300 m, studded with thousands of glacially created lakes, and well forested. Poland's major river, the Vistula, divides this region into the Pomeranian lakeland which extend west toward the Oder and the Mazurian lakeland which extends east to the country's northern and northeastern border.

(iv) Baltic Sea Coast. Finally, on the extreme north, lying along the Baltic Sea is a narrow area of swamps and dunes, and a shore straightened by sandy bars to form small bays and coastal lakes. Proceeding from west to east, the coastal plains are divided into: the Oder delta or lowlands of Szczecin, the Kaszubim Coast with many relict lakes, the Vistula Delta above the Gulf of Gdansk and the lakeless Prussian Plain in the east. Just south of the Gulf of Gdansk is an area of 596 km² lying below sea level.

Cutting across all of these physiographic regions are the major river systems of Poland which terminate in the Baltic (see section 5).

Poland has a mosaic of soils, mostly glacial, acid tolerant and leached of nutriment, especially in the south. Sandy podsols with low humus content occupy from 50 to 70 percent of the area; the remainder consists of boulder loams, alluvial soils, silt and loess, and peaty/swampy areas. The richest soils (chernozems and brown forest soils) are in the loess belt in the south. The mountain soils are generally thin and poor.

Poland, which is about 28 percent wooded, lies in the mixed forest zone transitional between the Atlantic European forest and the coniferous zone of the Baltic. There are four types of forest: coniferous (about 70–80 percent), mixed deciduous, alder swamps, and humid woods in river valleys subject to flooding. Pines are found in the lowlands and spruce in the mountains. Natural cover is now very scarce because of repeated clearings.

4. CLIMATE

The climate of Poland is transitional between oceanic and continental, with great variance from year to year and day to day. Mild moist winters alternate with heavy dry ones, and similar thermic and precipitation variations are found in summer. It is coldest in the northeast and warmest in the southwest.

The mean annual temperature (excluding that in the mountains) is about 7°C. The mean monthly temperature in July ranges from 16.5°C on the Baltic to 19°C in the southwest. January means range from 0°C on the coast to -4.5°C in the northeast.

Rain occurs mainly in the summer, being highest in July. Winter (December–March) precipitation is about two-thirds snow. The mean annual precipitation is about 600 mm. In the mountains it exceeds 1 200–1 500 mm, and coastal lowlands have only 450 mm annually.

Snow-cover varies from 40 days in the west to 80 in the east, and up to 200 days in the high mountains.

Frosty days vary from 23 on the seacoast to 137 days on the summit of Sniezka in the Sudetes. The length of the vegetative (growing) period with an average temperature higher than 5°C is 190 to 220 days in the lowlands.

5. HYDROGRAPHY AND LIMNOLOGY

Recently published estimates of the total area of inland waters in Poland range from about 440 000 ha to about 890 000 ha. Table 1, which lists some of the estimates made between 1954 and 1989 illustrates the difficulties apparent in specifying this area as well as that for each component of this system.

Table 1

Polish inland water areas (ha)

^a 9 296 lakes exceeding 1 ha

^b Patalas (1965) derived his lake area from Majdanowski (1954), his estimated average water surface area for rivers was given (i.e., printed) as 88 000 ha, a figure corrected in ink in my copy received from the Government. He stated that the river area is about one-quarter of the total lake surface area, and also said that the total area of artificial ponds accounts for 16.8 percent of the total area of inland waters in the country. If so, then the latter figure would amount to only 397 494 ha rather than the total shown in the table above. (He did not estimate total reservoir area for Poland)

^c According to Dabrowski and Walus (1965), the area of rivers was based on estimations made by individual provinces, and with reference to major rivers included the areas between protective longitudinal dams periodically flooded. The inventory of lakes and ponds was derived from an old survey (then 60–80 years back). Lake areas included islands, fluctuating reservoirs, and vanishing water basins. Pond area included dikes, roads, and uninundated ponds

^d With surface area over 20 ha

^e Leopold (1983) says that actual pond water surface area in Poland constitutes about 70 percent of total pond area

Poland/EIFAC (1976) has explained that the difference between the largest estimation (890 000 ha) and the third smallest one (462 000 ha) is simply a matter of definition, i.e., that the higher figure includes the area of the brackish water estuaries of the Oder and Vistula (the Szczecin and Vistula “haffs” or “firths”). This explanation, although appealing, cannot be considered completely accurate, since the combined Polish area of these two bodies is considered in official Polish publications to be only 70 000 ha (see section 5.5). It seems probable, therefore, that other brackish water areas have also been included in the larger estimates.

It will be noted that the “total” water area in Table 1 does not always agree with the sum of the tabulated components (e.g., Bninska and Leopold, 1987). In a personal communication, 29 January 1990, Dr M. Bninska informed me that it was extremely difficult to obtain proper data on water area in Poland - due to a complicated statistical system based on current water use and users rather than on “reality”. The data in Bninska and Leopold (1987) refer to the so-called “natural” waters of Poland which embrace all inland waters with the exception of ponds; i.e., “natural waters” are: rivers, dam reservoirs, lakes, and “other waters” (pools, channels, bodies formed after clay or gravel excavations, old river beds, etc.). The difference between the “total” area and the summation of the other components tabulated by Bninska and Leopold (1987) in Table 1, is represented by the area of “other waters”. Their figures, gathered from each of Poland's 49 Vovevodstvas (Districts) are based in geodetic measurements and not on water use. (See section 7.2 for remarks on estimations of artificial pond area.)

Tentatively, it is concluded that the freshwater area in Poland (including reservoirs and artificial fish ponds) may be in the neighbourhood of 500 000 to 600 000 ha or about 1.6 to 2 percent of the country's total area. The average runoff from rainfall on Polish territory is 158 mm or 49 000 million m³ to which can be added 6 000 million m³ received from upstream countries. Thus, based on this data, both Van der Leeden (1975) and ECE (1978) state that the total river discharge leaving the country is 55 000 million m³. However, Glowny Urzad Statystyczny (1988) states that the total river discharge leaving Poland during the 1970–87 period varied from 59 400 million m³ in 1985 to 89 000 million m³ in 1980.

Of the total area of Poland, about 99.9 percent drains into the Baltic Sea: 55.9 percent through the Vistula, 34.1 percent through the Oder, 0.6 percent through the Niemen, and 9.3 percent through coastal rivers. Only about 0.1 percent from a small area in southern Poland drains into the Black Sea.

5.1 Rivers (Rzeki)

The total length of all Poland's rivers is about 100 000 km and the total length of its main rivers is about 29 500 km (Poland/EIFAC, 1976). Estimates of the total water surface of Polish rivers (even more difficult to determine) are shown in Table 1.

Table 2 shows the principal rivers of Poland: their length, basin size, and discharge. Collectively, their length within Poland totals 11 164 km. Table 3 shows the monthly flows in three major Polish rivers.

Table 2

Principal rivers of Poland^a

^a The following rivers are navigable: Oder - 711 km; Nysa Luzycka - 15 km; Warta - 407 km; Noteć - 282 km; Ina - 59 km; Vistula - 941 km; Przemsza - 24 km; Dunajec - 30 km; Wisloka - 22 km; San - 90 km; Narew - 300 km; Biebrza - 84 km; Pisa - 80 km; Bug - 587 km; Brda - 14 km; Wda - 5 km; Pasteka - 9 km.

Source: Rocznik Statystyczny, 1988

Table 3

Seasonal discharge of three major rivers in Poland (m³/sec)

Source: Van der Leeden (1975) after Unesco (1971)

Most Polish rivers have a niveous-pluvial regime with two periods of high water each year. In the spring (March–April) their flow is augmented by melting snow and the release of ice dams, and in summer (June–July) by rains. Low water usually occurs in the late summer or autumn. The rivers are also fed by ground waters (which lie beneath most of the lowlands) and springs, and karst water sometimes emerges as springs as at the source of the Vistula. In their upper courses, most of the Carpathian rivers have a variable flow because of their impermeable substratum of schists and sandstones.

The courses of most Polish rivers are sluggish and laden with sediment. They have wide basins, their tributaries are entwined, and on the plains their divides are so low that one river may flood into another and it is easy to establish artificial waterways between them. Only the upper reaches of rivers starting in the Carpathians show gradients as large as 25 per mille. For example, 90 percent of the Vistula's course has gradients of only 0.15–0.3 per mille. A simple method of classification is, therefore, to denote the rivers as: (i) highland (approximately the trout and grayling zones), and (ii) lowland. About 87 percent of Polish rivers are “lowland”.

Generally speaking, most of the waters within the Vistula and Oder systems represent the barbel (Barbus) and bream (Abramis) zones, whereas the Carpathian rivers of the south and the Pomeranian rivers of the north represent trout (Salmo), grayling (Thymallus) and barbel zones. Table 4 indicates fish zones based on the gradient theory (see also section 5.1 under France).

Chemically, Polish rivers are characterized by a preponderance of carbonates and calcium against small amounts of sulphates, chlorides, silicates, sodium, magnesium and potassium. The most frequent values for total hardness (and carbonate hardness) range from 150 to 200 mg/l CaCO₃.

Water temperatures keep within the limits of 0°–27°C, and the 27°C recording is considered to be an exceptional case. Polluted streams may be higher than the norm. Minimum water temperatures occur from November to March; maximum usually occurs in July, about 22°–23°C.

Ice-cover appears as follows: in eastern Poland for 60–80 days within the December–March period; in western and southwestern rivers for 0–20 days in January. Ice-cover usually ranges up to 60 cm.

Table 4

Fish zones in Polish rivers

Source: Simplified from Starmach (1956)

Vistula. Known in Poland as the Wisla, this 1 047-km river is the longest in the country. Rising at 1 106 m as a mountain torrent in the Beskids (lower Carpathians), it flows in a great curve through southeastern, central and northern Poland, through Krakow and Warsaw, across the great glacial plains to the Baltic's Gulf of Gdansk. Here it debouches in a delta region of 1 560 km², a drained marshland which is diked and channelled. In its upper reaches the Vistula has a mean annual water temperature of about 8°C which rises to 9.5°C in its middle and lower reaches, i.e., about 2°C higher than Poland's mean annual air temperature. In winter, the Vistual averages 2–3°C, and in summer 12–15°C, but in thermally affected areas may be 6–10°C higher. Like the other Baltic rivers, the Vistula is asymmetrical with its right bank comprising 73 percent of its basin. Proceeding downstream, its major tributaries are the: Dunajec, San, Wieprz, Pilica and Narew. The Narew originates in the USSR, and its major tributary, the Bug, which also originates in the USSR, forms about 280 km of the Polish-Soviet border. The Vistula is navigable for about 90 percent of its length.

Oder. Rising at 634 m in northern Czechoslovakia (known both there and in Poland as the Odra), the Oder has a total length of 854 km of which 742 km lies in Poland. After passing the Moravian Gate, the Oder runs generally northwest to be joined by the Nysa and continue north as the 187-km border of the Democratic Republic of Germany. It debouches in the Szczecin Haff on the Baltic. The delta side belongs to Poland but the larger river ports are on the German side. Its flow is similar to that of the Vistula, and high water moves a large amount of alluvial material into the channel where continual dredging and bank reinforcement are required. Canalized in part by locks, the Oder's flow is stabilized by a number of reservoirs on tributaries. It is navigable almost to the point where it enters Poland, and is heavily polluted. Ice usually lasts about 30 days but has been extended to 80 days. Like the Vistula, its right bank comprises about 70 percent of its basin. Its most important tributary is the 808-km Warta which also has a very important affluent, the Noteć. Another tributary to the Oder is the Nysa or Nysa Luzycka (also known as the Niesse). Rising in Czechoslovakia, it forms Poland's boundary with the Democratic Republic of Germany from the Czech border to its mouth.

5.2 Lakes (Jeziora)

Most figures as to the number of Polish lakes generally agree. Majdanowski (1954) gives the number over 1 ha in area as 9 296. V.H.W. and Melezin (1957) say there are some 9 300 lakes and that their number is declining. Kondracki (1974) reiterates the statement that the number of Polish lakes over l ha in area is about 9 300 adding that this figure does not include valley floor oxbow lakes, reservoirs or artificial ponds. Poland/EIFAC (1974; 1976) agree on a total of 9 300 lakes. Europa (1988) says there are some 5 000 lakes. Figures concerning the total lake area in Poland are given in Table 1. Accepting the earliest citation as reasonably correct, there appear to be about 9 300 lakes in Poland totalling about 3 200 km² as is shown in Table 5. The area, depth, and elevation of the largest and deepest Polish lakes are shown in Table 6.

Table 5

The number of Polish lakes and area distribution in size classes

Source: Majdanowski (1954)

Most of Poland's lakes are of glacial origin. A small number of cirque lakes are found in the Carpathian and Tatra mountains (e.g., Wielki Staw and Czarny Staw), but most Polish lakes lie on the plains of the northern lake regions. The commonest type in Poland is the “tunnel” or “channel” lake which lies in a channel excavated by melt water flowing under glacial ice (e.g., Miedwie, Beldany and Hańcza). The other major type of lake, found in areas of ground and frontal moraines, are formed in cavities following glacial accumulations or melting of separate dead-ice blocks and sometimes as a result of damming in the area of a terminal moraine (e.g., Mamry). There are also some shallow lakes in the valley regions formed by natural obstructions or subsidence, and a few karst lakes outside the last glaciation between the Wieprz and Bug rivers. There are also some shallow lakes formed in river deltas or replaced bays cut off from the Baltic by sand banks (see also section 5.5).

Patalas (1965) has listed the four largest groups of Polish lakes as follows. The largest group is in the Pomeranian Lakeland between the lower Oder and lower Vistula (northwestern Poland): 4 129 lakes totalling 115 300 ha in area. The second largest is the Mazury Lake District (northeastern Poland): 2 561 lakes totalling 141 700 ha. The largest Polish lakes, Sniardwy and the Mamry complex are found in the Mazurian district. The third largest lake area is situated between the Middle Oder and middle Vistula: 1 711 lakes with a total area of 53 100 ha. The fourth group, the Leczyca-Wlodawa Lakeland is situated north-northeast of Lublin in eastern Poland: 68 lakes, 2 730 ha.

Small but deep lakes (to 79.3 m) in the mountains constitute another distinct group; there are 43 lakes over l ha in area in the Tatras alone. Most of these granite-bound oligotrophic lakes were barren of fish until the end of the Nineteenth Century when stocked with char and trout.

Most of the Polish lakes less than 50 ha in area are shallow, up to 15 m in depth. Among those greater than 50 ha, most have maximum depths from 15 to 30 m, and there are only about 25 lakes 50–85 m upward in depth.

Most of the lakes are of carbonate type, the pH a little below 7, conductivity 100–150 uS/cm. There are, however, various lakes richer in electrolytes.

Thermal conditions are typical for the climatic zone with a summer stagnation period of 4 to 6 months and a winter stagnation of 1 to 4 months. In summer, surface temperatures mostly keep to 18°–22°C, and bottom waters usually keep within 6°–9°C. In winter, bottom waters usually keep within 2.5° and 4°C. The period of ice-cover is generally between end-December and end-March. In the large Mazury group, ice is usually 30–40 cm in depth.

Table 6

Principal lakes of Poland

Source: Rocznik Statystyczny, 1988

There are few oligotrophic or dystrophic lakes in Poland. Considerably larger is the a- and bmesotrophic group and the more numerous eutrophic lakes. The largest group of all represents pondtype lakes (less than 6 m in depth); however, in terms of overall area, lakes in the eutrophic and bmesotrophic groups have the largest share.

The hypolimnion of the eutrophic lakes often has an oxygen content below 1 mg/l for about five months, is often devoid of O₂, and registers high H₂S. In many tunnel lakes more than half the bottom area is often inaccessible to fish for several months during the summer.

From a fishery standpoint, Polish lakes have sometimes been classified with respect to their indicator species and predominant catch as follows: (i) whitefish (Coregonus spp.) lakes; (ii) bream lakes (Abramis brama, Rutilus rutilus, Alburnus alburnus); (iii) pike-perch lakes (Stizostedion lucioperca, Anguilla anguilla); (iv) tench and pike lakes (Tinca tinca, Esox lucius); (v) crucian carp (Carassius carassius) lakes. In reporting on a survey made in 1953, Zawisza (1965) states that whitefish (coregonid) lakes then constituted almost 40 percent of the lake area, bream, pike-perch, and tench and pike lakes each about 20 percent, and crucian carp lakes about 3 percent¹. Whitefish lakes corresponded to a- and b-mesotrophic and to some of the deeper eutrophic lakes. All of the other four types were eutrophic. No clearly marked differences in the amount of catches between the respective types were recorded, and within each group productivity varied from high to low. The basic typology may be useful, but large-scale stocking with coregonids (emanating from commercial hatcheries and primarily Coregonus lavaretus and C. peled) has now made their value as indicator species less useful.

¹ Nagieć (1977) agreed in saying that about 20 percent of Poland's lake area was characterized by the presence of pike-perch. Such areas had low mean depths, lack of thermal stratification, intensive mixing, low transparency, and frequent algal blooms

5.3 Reservoirs or Dams (Zapory)

Kossakowski (1973) said there were about 30 000 ha of reservoirs with surface areas over 20 ha in Poland. Kondracki (1974) said there were about 50 reservoirs in Poland with a total area of some 20 000 ha. Poland/EIFAC (1974) said there were about 33 000 ha of large reservoirs in the country, and that about 18 000 ha of reservoirs were then being exploited for commercial fishing. Backiel (1985) stated that there were more than 100 reservoirs in Poland with a capacity of more than 1 million m³. Bninska and Leopold (1987) and Poland/EIFAC (1989) say that the total reservoir area in Poland is 51 200 ha. Most of the Polish reservoirs are designed for flood control, as aids to navigation, and for the generation of hydroelectric power. All of them are used for recreational fishing. Table 7 which is derived from the Polish Statistical Yearbook for 1988 lists 23 reservoirs whose total area is 30 160 ha.

5.4 Canals (Kanaly)

The low divides between Poland's lowland rivers have made canal construction relatively simple and there is a considerable connection of waterways between rivers, as well as lakes. Table 8 provides some data on Polish canals (see also section 6).

5.5 Other Waters

The Baltic Sea, a shallow almost landlocked basin fed by many streams is quite brackish. Its salinity off the Polish coast is low, about 7–8 ppt. The coast has several bays as well as “lagoons”, “firths”, or “haffs” and coastal lakes either cut off from the Baltic or connected by narrow straits. The two largest of these are the Szezecin or Stettin Haff (635 km² of which 372 km² is Polish) at the mouth of the Oder, and the Vistula Haff or Lagoon (838 km² of which 328 km² is Polish). These two haffs may be considered to be in a stage of transition to coastal lakes. For example, the Vistula Lagoon is only about 5 m deep and connects with the Gulf of Gdansk through a narrow channel. Bukowo, with an area of 1 747 ha and maximum depth of 2.8 m is an example of a coastal lake in which the transition has been completed. The water of the small lagoons is less salty than that of the main Sea, but even in the Sea there are populations of fluvial fishes, such as bream, roach, and pike, which are fished for commercially (see section 7). See the reviews of Finland and Sweden for further information on the Baltic.

Artificial fish ponds, which constitute a large share of Poland's inland waters are discussed in section 7.2

Table 7

Important Polish reservoirs

Source: Rocznik Statystyczny, 1988

Table 8

Principal canals of Poland

Source: Rocznik Statystyczny, 1988

6. LAND AND WATER USE

Despite its rather unfavourable climate and soil, Poland is one of the world's leading agricultural countries. Its principal crops are: cereals (rye, wheat, oats), sugar beets and potatoes. Live stock production is also important. By broad indications its lands have sufficient natural moisture, and only 0.32 percent of the country is irrigated (100 000 ha in 1986). Irrigation therefore creates only a slight demand upon its water resources, and, in fact, shows a reduction from the 202 000 ha irrigated in 1971. Drainage has long been the principal method of land reclamation. A considerable amount of liming and fertilization is now being practiced, and the use of pesticides is increasing. For example, in the Brodnica lake district, fertilizer use has increased from 35 kg/ha/year in 1960 to 200–250 kg/ha/year in 1980 (Churzi, 1983). Overall use of fertilizers in Poland was somewhat above the European average in 1984.

Table 9

Pattern of land use in Poland, 1986

Source: 1983 FAO Prod.Yearbk., 41, Publ. 1988

Poland's forests, which are mainly coniferous, were sixth in European production in 1985 and some of the rivers are used for floating timber.

Mining, although mostly confined to the southern part of the country, is a much more important industry. The most important mineral resource is hard coal, of which Poland is a principal world producer and brown coal is also important. There is little iron ore, but sulphur, copper, zinc, lead and rock salt production is high, and there is a large reserve of peat, and rich sources of natural gas. Subsurface resources belong to the State.

Poland produces a great deal of power, now seventh in Europe, with an installed capacity of 30 million kW in 1987. However, only 6.6 percent (1 976 000 kW) of this is hydroelectric; thermal power using brown coal is dominant. Poland's rivers are, therefore, largely untapped as a source of energy. Although some of the Carpathian streams have high slopes, and the lower terrain permits cutting across meanders to create drop, the potential for more hydroelectric power is limited. The first nuclear power station was scheduled to open in 1989.

Although Poland is still about 37 percent rural, it is now using its great power production for and industrial base. Major industrial activities include: shipbuilding, engineering, machine building, and production of steel, chemicals, textiles, and food. Its industrial areas now cover almost one-fifth of the country although concentrated in the west.

Transport facilities reach most areas in Poland through a dense network of rails and by roads which are increasing in number but are still not of high quality. Paved road density was about 0.5 km/km² in 1985 and car ownership about 103 per 1 000 inhabitants. There are three large ports on the Baltic and about 11 fishing ports. A system of navigable waterways is composed of natural rivers and lakes (about 25 percent), canals (25 percent), and regulated streams (about 50 percent). The latter are controlled by dams, levees and locks. Statistics on the extent of navigable waters differ somewhat: about 4 600 km navigable and 2 250 km for rafting (Keefe et al., 1973); 6 907 km of which only 4 581 km are fully navigable (Kostrowicka, 1974); 3 786 km (CMEA, 1977); 3 734 km (Economist, 1981); 3 997 km (Europa, 1988). Inland navigation may be impeded by ice for one to three months in the winter although icebreakers are used in the lower waters. Pipelines have now become more important than canals for the bulk of inland transportation.

Overall water use in Poland is distinctly slanted in favour of industrial use as shown in Table 10.

Table 10

Total water demand in Poland
(billion m³ yearly)

Source: Rocznik Statystyczny, 1988

With high demand for water in limited supply, water pollution is a severe problem in Poland. Among major sources are sewage, wastes from food and agricultural industries such as effluents from starch, sugar, and dairy production, and wastes from the wood industry. Thermal pollution from the discharge of hot water by power plants into lakes and streams is also common in Poland. In 1965 it was considered that some 12 000 ha of lakes were in danger of water pollution or polluted to the extend that fish production was excluded. An evaluation of the state of water pollution applied to 100 main rivers in Poland with a total length of 11 493 km showed that one-third of these rivers consisted of waste waters (Kolaczkowski and Manczak, 1971). By 1973, it was estimated that heavy pollution existed in 6 percent of the lakes, about 35 percent of the river area, about 38 percent of the larger reservoirs, and about 4 percent of the fish ponds (Kossakowski, 1973). An even more alarming picture is painted by Vita (1990) who states that 95 percent of Poland's river water is unfit for human consumption and that 50 percent of it is unfit for industrial use. The latter statement is confirmed by Harper's Index (1990) based on information from the Worldwatch Institute. Fully verifiable or not, there is no question but that Poland's water quality has been severely impaired.

Marine fisheries, encompassing both Baltic and distant water fishing, is important in Poland as is the construction of fishing vessels. Commercial fishing in inland waters is of long standing here although now being outstripped by sport fishing. Pond fish culture has long been an important use of water in Poland, for example, in 1939 the total fish pond area was over 18 percent of all its inland waters, an extension of the carp culture which began circa the Thirteenth Century. The per caput consumption of all food fish was 18.3 kg/year circa 1989, and about 1 kg/year of freshwater fish alone circa 1982. Tourism in Poland is low.

7. FISH AND FISHERIES

Gasowska (1965) lists 55 species of freshwater fish belonging to 17 families as resident in Poland. Of these, about 25 native species belonging to 10 families, are of major importance in the commercial and recreational fisheries of the country (see Table 11). In addition to these, the American brown bullhead (Ictalurus nebulosus) is established in many Polish waters, and other introductions include: rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), the American brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) which is found in the Tatra Mountains, Siberian whitefish (Coregonus peled), largemouth black bass (Micropterus salmoides), and some of the Chinese carps.

Fishes formerly abundant in Poland were the sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) now rarely encountered, and the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Larsson (1980) estimates that in 1900, Polish smolt production of the Atlantic salmon was about 10 000 which had been reduced to about 1 000 by 1970. At the time of writing, he further states that the Drawa River, a tributary of the Oder, was the only Polish water where spawning of this fish occurs regularly. Poland/EIFAC (1989) also says that Polish Atlantic salmon still reproduce naturally only in the Drawa River, but that their overall situation has improved due to stocking both in the Pomeranian rivers and in the Baltic Sea. Smolt production and release of Atlantic salmon and sea trout in 1986 amounted to 619 691 and 6 131 500 feeding sea trout hatchlings. High summer temperatures have harmed Polish efforts to raise salmon, and sea trout are easier to raise. Based primarily on Bartel and Zielinksi (1989), Poland/EIFAC (1989) further describes the situation by saying that in 1986, the Polish commercial catch of Atlantic salmon and sea trout (Salmo trutta) (the two species are not distinguished in the catch) amounted to 276.2 t, derived as follows: 137.2 t from the Baltic Sea, 84.6 t in Baltic coastal waters, 5.8 t from “lagoons” (mainly the Vistula estuary), and 48.6 t in Polish rivers.¹ Sea trout can still reproduce naturally in a number of Pomeranian rivers, and many Altantic salmon and sea trout are caught by angling in these rivers.

¹ Only the Baltic catch of “Atlantic salmon” in 1986 is recorded in the FAO summations for Poland (Tables 12 and 13)

Two other prized salmonoid game fishes are also found in Poland: the grayling (Thymallus thymallus), and the huchen (Hucho hucho), which is found naturally only in the River Czarna Orawa and its tributaries in Poland's small Danube drainage. The huchen has also been introduced into other Polish streams, e.g., the Dunajec and Poprad in the Vistula drainage.

Table 11

Commonest exploited inland fishes of Poland

^a These divisions are derived from Backiel (1965) and Zawisza (1965), the sources of this table. In some countries, many more of these fishes would be termed “coarse”

^b However, see below for other names for these Coregonids

^c Polish name

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla), which is important both as a commercial and sport fish, no longer enters Polish rivers according to Poland/EIFAC (1989). However, starting on a small scale in 1948, it is now widely and intensively stocked with elvers imported from France and the Federal Republic of Germany. Catches of eel by commercial fishermen show a continuous increase both as a percentage of total catch and in total weight (average annual catch 432.25 t during 1951–81). Furthermore, studies in 1979 showed that the eel catch from sport fishing reached an annual total of 1 786 t or 2.6 times higher than the commercial catch (Leopold and Bninska, 1984).

Aside from the anadromous fishes and the catadromous eel, Poland possesses a number of freshwater fishes which are tolerant of the brackish water of the Baltic. Among these are the whitefishes or coregonids (Coregonus spp.), in Poland otherwise confined to postglacial lakes in the Baltic lakeland. Falkowski, Luezynski and Vuorinen (1988) list the native coregonids of Poland as “vendace (Coregonus albula) and whitefish (C. lavaretus)”. They also say that a third species, the peled (C. peled) was introduced into Poland from the USSR in 1966. Another foodfish is the semimigratory Vimba vimba, a cyprinid known in Poland as the certa. Other fishes of commercial importance which are caught in the Baltic as well as in fresh water are listed in Table 13.

In addition to these finfishes, Poland possesses three species of crayfish: the native Astacus astacus, and the introduced A. leptodactylus and Orconectes limnosus¹. A. leptodactylus was introduced after the decline of A. astacus by the crayfish plague and Orconectes was introduced about 90 years ago from the USA. Kossakowski (1973) states that in recent years the total catches of Poland of these three crayfishes have reached 25–30 t/year: Astacus astacus about 90 percent and A. leptodactylus about 10 percent². He believes, nevertheless, that the stocks have declined, attributing this to crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci), and destruction of habitat through flood control, irrigation works and pollution. Kossakowski (1975) believes that the potential catch of Orconectes limnosus could be as high as 100 t annually if catching methods were effective and a good Polish market existed.

Table 12 shows the “catch” in Polish inland waters during the 1965–87 period as compiled by FAO from data contributed by the Government of Poland. It will be noted that starting in 1984, there was a marked change in the type of statistics presented; i.e., they became much more specific. However, no distinction was made in the FAO Fishery Yearbooks between fish derived by capture fishing and those produced through aquaculture. It is apparent however, that the greater part of the “catch” recorded in this table represents cultivated fish³. Poland/EIFAC (1976) emphatically stated that the Polish “catch” of both common carp and trout shown in the FAO Fishery Yearbooks through 1973 was derived from aquaculture while the remainder of the reported inland fishery catch was from commercial fishing. Poland/EIFAC (1989) modified this statement by saying that while the bulk of the “catch” of carp shown in the FAO Fishery Yearbooks through 1983 (Table 12) was produced aquaculturally, the Yearbooks also included the true commercial catch of carp and that the “catch” of trout shown through 1983 was primarily true catch or capture. Since 1984, however, the “catch” of trout reported in the FAO Yearbooks (Table 12) seems to refer only to production by the State Fish Farms. They usually include trout produced in pond culture and trout produced in cage culture; both are actually aquacultural production. (See section 7.2 for a true presentation of aquacultural production.)

As another example of somewhat misleading statistics, one notes the practice in some reports on aquacultural production to include only the consumable (marketable) production, i.e., “table fish”, while others include the production used for stocking and/or the brood fish. For example, during the 1970–73 period, Europa (1974) listed the total Polish catches for freshwater fish, in thousands of tons, as follows: 1970 (21.6), 1971 (23.4), 1972 (26.5), and 1973 (28.6). It will be noted that the corresponding figures in Table 12 are less. Poland/EIFAC (1976) explains the discrepancy by noting that the Europa (1974) figures include “stocking material”. Europa (1982) has similar figures for freshwater catches during the 1974–80 period, in thousands of tons as follows: 1974 (27.9), 1975 (30.7), 1976 (32.9), 1977 (34.5), 1978 (26.9), 1979 (27.4), and 1980 (26.7); as does Europa (1985), 1981 (31.1), 1982 (36.5), and 1983 (42.6). All of these catches are higher than those shown in Table 12, and it has been assumed by the author that the same reason explains the difference. Poland/EIFAC (1989) agrees⁴.

¹ In 1972, the American signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, was brought in from Sweden

² Table 12 which shows much smaller catches of crayfish is intended to include only the reported commercial catch

³ For many years, the FAO Fishery Yearbooks have, as a policy, lumped the production from aquaculture with the catch by commercial capture fishing, even when, as is the case with Poland, they have been distinguished in the original data

⁴ The Europa statistics are taken from the Central Statistical Office of Poland (Glowny Urzad Statystyczny) which - according to Poland/EIFAC (1989) disposes only overall data and thus includes stocking material in the data on total production which other sources have then included as part of the “catch”

In addition to the strictly freshwater catch (specified here as “inland”), there is a substantial catch of fluvial and diadromous fishes by Poland in Marine Statistical Area No. 27, the Northeast Atlantic, which includes the Baltic Sea (see Table 13). Undoubtedly, all of the freshwater fish shown here are caught in the very brackish Baltic.

Table 12

Nominal catches by species in the inland waters of Poland, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980–87 (in tons)

- This category not listed this year

0 Probably nil, negligible or insignificant; or less than 50 t during the 1965–73 period, or less than half a ton during later years

... Data not available or included elsewhere

Source: 1965–69 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 36 (Publ. 1974)
1970–83 FAO Fish.Dept. Fishery Statistical Database (FISHDAB)
1984–87 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 64 (Publ. 1989)

Table 13

Nominal catches of fluvial and diadromous species in Marine Statistical Fishing Area 27 (Northeast Atlantic) by Poland, 1965–87 (in tons)

0 Probably nil, negligible or insignificant; or less than 50 t during the 1965–73 period, or less than half a ton during later years.

n.e.i.: Not elsewhere included

Source: 1965–69 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 36 (Publ. 1974)
1970–83 FAO Fish.Dept.Fishery Statistical Database (FISHDAB)
1984–87 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 64 (Publ. 1989)

In summary, one can merely say that the presence of various discrepancies in the reports (both cited and uncited) of Poland's freshwater catch and aquacultural production must leave both the author and reader somewhat dissatisfied. Some explanations follow.

7.1 Capture Fisheries

In contrast to many countries, the commercial fishery of Poland is carried out on most of the lake area, and at the same time most of the lakes are used by the recreational fishery. Circa 1975, from about 400 000 ha of inland waters said to be suitable for angling, the Polish Angler's Association (PAA) used about 280 000 ha for recreation, out of which 58 percent consisted of lakes managed by the State Fish Farms (SFF). Members of the PAA used over 57 percent of the total area of lakes belonging to SFF (Leopold, 1977). See section 8 concerning the percentage of waters managed by these two organizations.

All fish of any appreciable size (several hundred grams) are of interest to commercial fishermen and anglers. The major species exploited are shown in Table 11.

7.1.1. Commercial fishing

An estimate made by Dabrowski and Waluś (1965) for the annual harvest from Polish freshwater fisheries excluding angling was as follows: lakes 7 300 t; ponds 12 300 t; and rivers 1 000 t. Thus, the commercial catch in open waters at that (unspecified) time was considered to be about 8 300 t annually.

About nine years later, in 1974, the size of the commercial catch was not markedly different. The commercial catch in lakes in that year amounted to 8 015 t with most of about 290 000 ha being exploited. The commercial catch in rivers and reservoirs was about 700 t from about 75 000 ha of water. (Both river and lake statistics are from Poland/EIFAC, 1976 and Poland/EIFAC, 1989.) If one subtracts this combined commercial catch of 8 715 t from the total finfish “catch” of 21 874 t shown in Table 12 for 1974, one derives the figure of 13 159 t which is reasonably close to the figure of 13 335 t representing the combined “catch” of common carp and trout shown in the same table, thus substantiating the previous statement of Poland/EIFAC (1976) that most of the carp and trout shown in Table 12 through 1973 (and also 1974) represent aquacultural production while the other species are derived from the capture fishery.

Regardless of Table 12, the most basic figures known to the author are those contributed by Poland/EIFAC (1989). It clearly states that the commercial catch in Polish open waters (lakes, some reservoirs, and rivers) was 9 348 t in 1984, 9 402 t (1985), 9 325 t (1986) and 8 997 t (1987).

Dembiński (1965) has provided a succinct account of the freshwater fishing gear used in Poland for commercial fishing. It has been assumed here that the methods have not changed drastically since that time. About half of the lake fish are taken with bag seines, the others mostly with fyke nets, set gill, and trammel nets. In rivers, drift nets are used for about 60 percent of the fish landed. Trammel nets are used for bream, gillnets for Vimba vimba, salmon and sea trout. Fish traps and other gear are also used.

In lakes, seines are used for a variety of cyprinids, pike, perch and eel. Whitefish are taken in gillnets, and pike, bream, eel and tench in trammel nets. Fykes and other traps are used for bream, pike-perch, eels, tench, etc.

Poland has done considerable work on developing freshwater fishing gear and methods. Not only have natural materials been replaced by synthetics (manufactured in the country), but fishing has become more mechanized. The use of under-ice seine fishing techniques which yield considerable quantities of fish is noteworthy, and electrofishing to take eels and other fishes has become common.

Fish are mostly sold fresh, also smoked and canned. Both live and processed fish (e.g., eel, pike, tench, carp) are exported as are fish eggs (pike, sea trout) for stocking.

7.1.2 Sport fishing

There are no legal definitions in Poland of either food or sport fish. The latter include almost any species (about 28 in all) that can be caught by angling methods.

Table 14 shows the average annual catch of the Polish angler, the percentage of anglers catching particular species, and the angler's preference for each of these species. Ninety-seven percent of the angler's catch consists of the 14 species listed in this table, and the average annual catch of the Polish angler is almost 50 kg per year.

The average number of fishing days per angler is 61 with a duration of 6 hours, a very high intensity of angling¹. Seventy-five percent of the angling time is during the period of May–September.

¹ This high intensity can be explained in part by the work hours in Poland (usually 8.00 to 15.00 hours) enabling 34 percent of all angling to be done on normal working days

Table 14

Annual sport catch in inland waters of Poland

^a Barbel was tenth in preference

^b Anglers prefer not to catch this species

^c Trout are generally one of the fishes most desired by anglers. Apparently the anglers participating in this survey listed as preferred only those fishes which are rather abundant in Polish waters.

Source: Leopold, Bninska and Hus (1982)

The figures above are based on questionnaire studies embracing about 15 000 people (with preliminary analysis of 1 100 questionnaires) undertaken (apparently about 1979) among members of the Polish Angler's Association (PAA) by Leopold, Bninska and Hus (1982). If the figure of 50 kg as the average annual angler-catch were to be extended to all members of the PAA, i.e., about 750 000 in the number at the time of the study, then the total annual sport fish catch by PAA members alone would amount to about 37 500 t. This would be almost double the entire annual inland commercial catch and aquacultural production reported in 1979 in Table 12, and would not include the catch by all the other Polish anglers who do not belong to the PAA.¹

Only a few years before, Poland/EIFAC (1976) reported that, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the “…total commercial yield from lakes, reservoirs and rivers is 8 700 t…(the) total yield by angling is 10 500 t. The angling catch from rivers and reservoirs-7 000 t.” It was further reported that these catches were made by the then 535 000 angler members of PAA, and about one angler per 0.3 ha of inland water². They imply an average catch by all anglers (i.e., 1 535 000) of only 6.8 kg/year, or even if one assumed that the entire estimate of 10 500 t were caught only by the then 535 000 PAA-anglers, the average catch per angler per year would amount to only 19.6 kg. These estimates do not even come close to those published several years later by Leopold, Bninska and Hus (1982) or Leopold (1983) which cited the average annual catch of Polish anglers as 54.3 kg. Clearly, either the 1975 or the later estimate is erroneous. Poland/EIFAC (1989) states that the earlier estimates have been proved to be far too low and that the average catch per angler is almost 50 kg per year. This statement is based not only upon recent studies (see below) but upon catch registers introduced for anglers in a few districts in Poland³.

¹ “Members of the PAA constitute approximately 2% of the country's population, but it is believed that all together 6% of the population fishes at least occasionally” (Anon./Poland, 1982). According to Polish law, non-members of the PAA have no right to angle (Poland/EIFAC, 1989)

² Indicating by inference, 460 500 ha of inland water

³ Since 1988, anglers throughout Poland are obliged to register their catches

Another set of figures on the recreational fish catch in Polish inland waters follows, from Leopold (1983). He first estimates that the recreational catch from rivers and dam reservoirs amounts to about 10 000 t annually; no year is specified. He then states that the average number of Polish anglers during the 1957–79 period amounted to 372 600 and the average annual catch per angler was 54.3 kg, thus providing a total annual recreational catch of 20 232 t during this period. Based on the number of angling days spent on lakes (37 percent of the total) he assumes that lake fish catches constitute 37 percent of the total recreational catch or almost 7 500 t annually during this period. He concludes by saying that: “At present fish production in the inland waters of Poland is at least 40 000 t…annually. About 60 percent of this value is obtained from commercial fishery (obviously including pond production); the rest represents recreational fish catches.” The conclusion from these statements is that the Polish inland recreational catch is or has been about 16 000–20 000 t annually, and exceeds the catch of the commercial capture fishery.

Corroboration of such figures has been made on the basis of more extensive studies (Bninska, 1985) that in 1979 angler's catches in Poland amounted to about 25 935 t: 11 487 t from rivers and reservoirs, and 14 448 t from lakes. (The commercial fishery in Polish lakes produced only 9 043 t in the same year.)

The waters in Poland fished by anglers are primarily rivers and smaller streams (40.6 percent) and lakes (37.4 percent), followed by small reservoirs (11.2 percent), large reservoirs (6.9 percent), and canals (3.9 percent) according to Leopold, Bninska and Hus (1982). Angling methods are similar to those in other countries with heavy emphasis on the use of ground baits for cyprinids.

Extensive studies have been made in Poland of the economics and sociology of sport fishing (see the references cited above, including their bibliographies); some of their conclusions follow. Angling in this country is considered not only as a sport experience, but one connected with the overall aspects of recreation and environmental quality. It is, however, also closely concerned with the taking and keeping of fish for food. It is primarily a male activity, and one of urban dwellers (only 15 percent of the anglers live in the country). The average annual angling expenditure amounts to 73.5 percent of the average monthly salary, and the market value of fish caught constitutes 38 percent of these expenses.

As has been indicated above, it is difficult to determine the total number of anglers in Poland. Gaudet (1973) using Polish data recorded 400 000 “registered” sport fishermen or 1.3 percent of the total population. Leopold (1977) pointed out that the term “sport fishermen” in Poland should include “illegal anglers” as well as members of PAA and that the above figures might be closer to 1 200 000 persons or about 4 percent of the total population. He also stated that the PAA estimated that in 1975 PAA had 535 000 members and that 1 070 000 additional Poles were sport fishermen, i.e., a total of 1 605 000 people or 4.7 percent of the population at that time¹. A few years later the PAA was estimated to have 750 000 members and altogether about 6 percent of the total Polish population was believed to fish at least occasionally (see Anon./Poland, 1982; Leopold, Bninska and Hus, 1982). This would indicate a total angling population of about 2 148 300 in 1980. The validity of such estimates has been questioned by the reporters themselves. Nevertheless, since they believe that the number of anglers in the PAA itself is increasing at a rate of about 10 percent annually, it is obvious that sport fishing ranks high as a recreational activity in Poland.

¹ Leopold (1977) concluded, however, that the total number of anglers in Poland amounted to about 1 900 000

Conflicts between sport fishing and other direct uses of water, such as commercial fishing have been well explored in Poland. They exist, but present conclusions are that they are not significant.

7.2 Aquaculture

Most pond farms in Poland were created many years ago, some in the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Century. In the Middle Ages, ponds were only an adjunct of agriculture and were sometimes constructed for aesthetic purposes rather than for practically. Small, shallow, and often dispersed, many of them need reshaping to be efficient.

With respect to aquaculture in Poland, emphasis is placed on the culture of common carp, a tradition of more than 600 years. Other fishes cultivated here, often in carp ponds, are: tench, crucian carp, pike-perch, coregonids (Coregonus spp.), and rainbow trout. They constitute, however, only a small amount of the total production. In recent years, exotics such as the bighead (Aristichthys nobilis), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), which were introduced to Poland in 1964 (Opuszynski, 1979), and the Siberian Coregonus peled have also been cultivated.

The artificial pond area in Poland circa 1965 was considered to be 66 779 ha (Patalas, 1965), and 60 000 ha circa 1983 (Leopold, 1983; Ackefors, 1989), i.e., about one-fifth the natural lake area (see Table 1). According to Dr M. Bninska (personal communication of 29 January 1990) it is difficult to state clearly the actual area in Poland occupied by artificial fish ponds since the Ministry of Agriculture and Food distinguishes between total pond area and that actually used for fish culture. For example, according to Poland/EIFAC (1986) the Ministry lists the total pond area in Poland in 1983 as 64 028 ha of which only 44 488 ha were actually used and in 1987, 70 111 ha of which 51 016 ha were actually used. Of the latter area, almost 61 percent was used by the State Fish Farm, 14.5 percent by the Polish Angler's Association (PAA) and the rest by other users (cooperatives, forestry, etc.).

The principal concentrations of fish ponds are in areas devoid of or poor in natural lakes, i.e., in Central or South Poland. Some ponds are fed by rivers, many merely by precipitation on their individual drainage basins, fewer by springs or artesian water. Most ponds are on poor agricultural land. Pond farms vary between 300 and 1 500 ha, and individual carp ponds usually vary in size from less than 1 ha to several hundred hectares.

Carp culture in Poland is conducted using traditional European methods. In fact, the Dubisch (Dubisz) method of spawning carp originated in Silesia around 1870, laying the foundation for modern carp culture. Carp reproduction usually occurs in late May using the Dubisch method augmented by pituitary gland injection. Both fertilization and artificial feeding are practised to increase yields.

Domestic consumers in Poland demand a carp between 500 and 1 500 g in weight, an attainment which is reached slowly in Poland.

Experiments by M.A. Szumiec (1979) indicate that 14°C is the lowest temperature favouring common carp growth in Poland, and according to Lovell (1977), the period when the water temperature in Poland is above 15°C is only about 90 days, and there are only about 40 days when it is above 20°C. Ground water is too cold to run directly into carp ponds during the summer, and freezing of ponds during the winter make it necessary to remove fish to “wintering” places where the water is aerated or kept moving. Pond water temperatures in Poland thus restrict the carp feeding period to less than five months annually, and the growing period is perhaps only some 150–180 days/year. Leopold (1983) says that the favourable natural climatic conditions for carp last only 150–160 days (of vegetative period under section 4). A weight of 1 000 g of carp is, therefore, usually reached no sooner than the third year. Carp production is designed mainly for domestic consumption with the highest demand reached in December. The export trade in carp is not important.

Circa 1974, the total aquacultural production in Poland was about 20 000 t, of which 6 400 t were used for stocking¹. (See also the penultimate paragraph of this section for later years.) This production was derived from a total pond area of 60 000 ha, of which 38 000 ha were exploited commercially (Poland/EIFAC, 1974). This provided a total yield of 526 kg/ha/year, but the production of edible or consumable carp was 13 600 t or 358 kg/ha/year. If most of the entire “catch” of common carp specified in the FAO Fishery Yearbooks continues to represent only aquacultural production (see section 7), then between 1965 and 1987, the cultivated carp production in Poland varied between only 8 793 t in 1980 to 18 472 t in 1987 with wide yearly variations (see Table 12).

¹ A standard reference (Pillay, 1979) has inadvertently listed the estimated aquacultural production by Poland in 1975 as 38 400 t. Reference to the original data shows that this figure included not only aquacultural (pond) production but the commercial catch by the capture fishery

Such speculation may be interesting and perhaps even useful in the absence of other evidence. However, as with figures for the commercial catch in Poland, the most basic figures on carp production in Poland are those furnished by Poland/EIFAC (1989) and shown in Table 15.

According to Leopold (1983) carp production in Poland is characterized by significant variability, primarily as a result of varying climatic conditions. During the 1983–87 period, however, the carp production seemed to be relatively stable, centering around 21 000 t annually.

Table 15

Annual aquacultural production of carp in Poland, 1983–87 (in tons)^a

^a This production is about 90 percent common carp; the rest is tench, crucian carp, and Chinese carps. It represents the production from both State Farm and private producers.

Source: Poland/EIFAC (1989) on the basis of data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Much higher yields than those recorded for 1974 are quite possible in Poland, and some carp farms have achieved a level of production of over 1 000 kg/ha annually. Matina and Berka (1987) say that an average output of more than 1 000 kg/ha/year is obtained only in a total pond area of around 500 ha. Experiments in Poland by J. Szumiec (1979) have shown that ponds in good condition can provide 2 000–3 000 kg/ha/year when carbohydrate food is used, and 3 000–6 000 kg/ha/year when protein-rich pellets are used, and Backiel (1978) cites an experimental culture of carp of 7 400 kg/ha/year in 1977. It should be noted, however, that in the same year (1977), the average yield of marketable (table) carp in Poland amounted to 900 kg/ha/year (Leopold, 1983). Despite high experimental yields, the general policy in Poland is still to use low densities of carp and utilize as far as possible natural food resources rather than scarce high-protein foods.

Production of rainbow trout in Poland is low and designed principally for home markets, especially restaurants. Backiel (1978) says that a autumn-spawning strain of rainbow trout grown in heated water enables marketable trout to be produced in 12–14 months. Lovell (1977) said that in 1977 about 1 000 t of trout were raised in ponds, raceways, and cages, mostly on moist feeds. Leopold (1983) says that present trout production in Poland is about 1 000–1 500 t annually. Poland/EIFAC (1989) lists more exactly the aquacultural production of trout in Poland from 1973 to 1986 (Table 16). Discrepancies between the tonnage of trout produced annually described in Table 10 and recorded in Table 12 cannot be explained except to reiterate the remarks previously made.

Table 16

Annual aquacultural production of trout in Poland 1973–86 (in tons)

Source: Poland/EIFAC (1989) based upon Leopold et al. (1981) and Leopold (1986)

In recent years, the production of Chinese carps imported from the USSR is increasing. There has been an increase in cage culture, including illumination to attract plankers to feed coregonids (Brylinski, et al., 1975), and the use of thermally heated waters for culture is receiving more attention. Poland has also done considerable work on the control of fish diseases.

FAO Fish.Info.Data and Stat.Serv. (1989) agrees almost exactly with the “catch” of common carp and rainbow trout for 1984–87 in Table 12, but calls it “production from aquaculture”. It also lists an agricultural production ranging from 300 to 400 t annually of “Osteichthyes” during this period. It considers the total value of Poland's aquacultural production during this period to range from US$ 47 495 million to US$ 51 980 million. (In view of other evidence, the author considers such estimation to be only moderately correct.)

In addition to cultivation of fish for food, there are a number of hatcheries and pond centres to provide fish for stocking open waters. Trout, coregonids, pike, pike-perch, and various cyprinds are among those stocked. A number of Polish articles seem to treat this type of fish management as “aquaculture”. Leopold (1983), for example, speaks of the commercial fishery in Poland as “lake fish farming”, especially because of intensive lake stocking and the reported high harvest to the fisherman as a result.

8. OWNERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT, INVESTIGATION AND AGREEMENTS¹

8.1 Ownership and Availability

Under the Water Law of 1974, all flowing waters, except that in ditches, is property of the State. Practically all Polish fisheries in natural inland waters (open waters) belong to the State. The exceptions are those waters surrounded by the land of one proprietor. The latter concerns only some small lakes of negligible total area, although they may be of value to their owners.

Commercial fishing rights may be awarded for management to appropriate State Enterprises, and rented to other legal or natural persons under the condition of conducting them with qualified personnel. Thus, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food lets fishing rights to corporate (legal) bodies like State Fish Farms, cooperatives, and the Polish Angler's Association (PAA)².

All legal anglers must be members of the PAA, which involves paying an annual fee. This fee does not, however, give the member any fishing rights. Fishing rights are obtained by buying a license.

Licenses for waters managed by the PAA are issued by this organization. It issues a variety of licenses for different areas and for different methods and the price of these varies. (See also section 8.4 for more on the PAA.)

The State Farms also make about 55 percent of the lake area which they manage available for angling. Licenses for these lakes are issued both by the PAA and State Farms. Again, there are different types of licenses. The State Farms also issue licenses for lakes not generally available for angling. These “special” or “closed” fishing grounds are very expensive.

In all cases, the income from licenses is taken by either the PAA or State Farms, depending upon which agency manages the water.

¹ This section is derived from Gaudet (1974), material received by EIFAC from Poland in 1979, Surowiec and Deja (1978), Anon./Poland (1982), papers by Leopold et al. cited in section 10, and Poland/EIFAC (1989)

² The State Fish Farms are the principal producers of freshwater fish and control about 91 percent of the lake area. See section 8.4 for control by the PAA

8.2 Administration and Management

The Polish Parliament (SEFM) lays down laws. With respect to inland fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food formulates these laws and is responsible for their implementation. It is also responsible for the administration of inland fisheries which is carried out by its Department of Animal Breeding through its Fishery Inspectorate operating at central level and fishery inspectors on a district level. Presidia of National District Councils, Division of Agriculture and Forestry, look after general fishery matters in their regions.

8.3 Investigation, Education and Extension

8.3.1 Research is carried on by the:

1. Inland Fisheries Institute (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food) with the headquarters at Olsztyn-Kortowo: hydrobiology, ichthyology, fishing techniques, fishery management, fish culture, fishery economics, extension, fishery courses, etc.;
2. Department of Fish Diseases in the Institute of Veterinary Sciences (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food);
3. Centres for Combatting Fish Diseases alloted to Veterinary Hygienic Laboratories in various districts;
4. Faculty of Water Protection and Inland Fisheries of the Academy of Agriculture in Olsztyn-Kortowo (under the Ministry of National Education);
5. Sections of Fisheries within various Institutes in the Academies of Agriculture in several cities, and
6. Sea Fisheries Faculty, Academy of Agriculture in Szczecin (Ministry of National Education), and Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia (Ministry of Transport, Navigation and Communication). Both carry out some research on freshwater fishes in brackish waters.

8.3.2. Education in inland fisheries, in addition to that noted above, is carried out by:

1. Several schools of fisheries (under the Ministry of National Education), which provide secondary and basic education, and
2. State Agricultural Enterprises at various State Fish Farms.

8.4 Other Concerned Agencies

1. The Polish Academy of Sciencies Institutes and Laboratory at Krakow, Warsaw and various Chairs at Universities of Torun and Krakow, particularly the Laboratory of Aquatic Biology at Krakow with its experimental fish farm;
2. National Union of Fishery cooperatives, Gdynia, which affiliates Sea and six Inland Fisheries Cooperatives which run commercial fishing on the Vistula and Oder rivers;
3. Polish Anglers Association (PAA) with District Boards in every Voyevodstva or District;

The PAA was the manager of 16.3 percent of the total lake area in Poland, 74.6 percent of the total river area, and 69.8 percent of the reservoir area in 1987. In addition to its activities concerning angling, the PAA carries on commercial fishing and fish breeding on a limited scale.

4. Associations of Fish Culturists in several districts. These affiliate private fish producers, mainly trout and carp culturists, and are represented at central level by their union, and
5. Fisheries Section of the Society of Agricultural Engineers and Technicians.

8.5 International Agreements

Poland has bilateral agreements concerning the uses of water in boundary streams with Czechoslovakia and the German Democratic Republic. It has an agreement with the USSR concerning use of and technical cooperation on the Bug River.

It has a trilateral agreement with Czechoslovakia and the German Democratic Republic on uses of the Nysa Luźycka or Niesse River.