BULGARIA

The Republic of Bulgaria, on the eastern Balkan Peninsula, is bordered on the north by the Danube and on the east by the Black Sea. Two-thirds mountainous, a partly wooded area often snowbound and furrowed by river valleys, Bulgaria is also an area of great plains.

Moderately densely populated, this once agricultural country with a peasant economy is being industrialized rapidly despite an essential lack of mineral resources.

Water deficient, with great demands on its river by agriculture and industry, its inland fishery resources suffer as a result of their needs. The damages have been offset to some extent by establishment of fisheries in reservoirs and an increase in aquaculture for both cyprinids and trout.

Commercial fishing for inland species is declining, and sport fishing is still a minor recreational activity.

¹ This includes 267.8 km² of the territorial waters of frontier rivers

Bulgaria is situated in the northeastern Part of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Black Sea, between 41°14' and 44°13'N latitudes and 22°40' and 28°36'E longitudes.

Its extreme length (S-E) is 520 km and its greatest breadth (W-E) is 274 km. Its altitudinal range is from sea level to 2 925 m with an average elevation of 480 m.

To the north, Bulgaria's common frontier of 591 km with Romania runs along the Danube River for 453 km. On the southeast, Bulgaria is bounded by Turkey for 269 km, on the south by Greece for 475 km and on the west by former Yugoslavia for 536 km.

The 378-km coastline on the east is narrow, sandy, slightly indented, and has a number of lagoons and littoral lakes.

About two-thirds of the country is mountainous, the rest mostly cultivated plateau, river valleys, and coastal plain. About 70 percent of the country is below 500 m, 20 percent lies between 500 and 1 000 m, and 10 percent above 1 000 m. Proceeding from north to south, Bulgaria can be divided into four major alternating bands of low and high terrain which extend generally east and west across this quadrilateral country: (i) the treeless Danubian Plain or Plateau; (ii) the Stara Planina or Balkan Mountains; (iii) the central Thracian Plain or Maritsa Valley, (iv) the Rila-Rhodope mountains. There is also an area of low hills, fens and sandy steppes below the Danube delta.

The Danubian Plain, occupying more than one-quarter of the country and averaging 178 m in elevation, extends from the former Yugoslavian border to the Black Sea. It is a fertile grain-producing region with undulating hills.

To the south, the Danubian Plain blends into the foothills of the Stara Planina; together they constitute 46 percent of the country. An eastern extension of the Carpathians, this mountain range, of crystalline schists, limestone and granite, terminates at the Black Sea. It is 596 m long and 19–48 km wide. Its rounded summits average 722 m and it is 2 379 m high at its highest point. Over most of its length it is divided between drainage to the Danube and to the Aegean Sea. In the east, small areas drain into the Black Sea.

The southern slopes of the Stara Planina and a parallel ridge, the Sredna Gora, give way to the Thracian Plain. Occupying 38 percent of the country, it encompasses the fertile Maritsa River basin and the lowlands that extend from it to the Black Sea.

The southernmost lateral physiographic band of Bulgaria is the Rila-Pirin-Rhodope range, 16 percent of the country. This crystalline block of granite and gneiss is the most outstanding topographic feature of the Balkan Peninsula. With peaks over 2 700 m in the western Rila range, the elevation decreases easterly to rarely exceed 450 m along the Turkish border.

About 35 percent of the country is forested and about 52 percent has fertile soils. The Danubian Plain is now primarily a grain-producing belt with brush, grass and reeds along the river. The Thracian Plain is also extensively cultivated with a great variety of plants. The lower mountain slopes are forested with oak and beech, elm and ash, followed by pines and firs. Alpine meadows and pasture are found at the higher elevations. In the southern Rhodope, vegetation is typically Mediterranean with scrubby underbrush and maquis. Only about half the forest area has really tall timber (75 percent deciduous and 25 percent coniferous). The remainder, which is scrub vegetation or brushwood, serves to lessen erosion and slow runoff.

Soils of good quality make up almost three-quarters of the country's surface. Fine black chernozems, rich in loess and humus and overlying limestones, occur in the north, merging into less fertile grey soils away from the Danube. Chernozem-smolnitza alluvium, and brown forest soils occupy the Thracian Plain. The high mountains have brown and grey forest and meadow soils, and the Maritsa, Tundzha, and major tributaries of the Danube have fertile alluvial soils.

4. CLIMATE

Situated in the southernmost part of the temperate zone, the climate of Bulgaria is transitional between Eastern European continental and Mediterranean. Humid continental systems generally prevail in the north: hot summers, cold winters, and precipitation well distributed throughout the year. In the south, the Mediterranean climate has mild, damp winters and hot, dry, rain-free summers. In between the two, average temperatures and precipitation are erratic.

The average annual temperature is 10.5°C, with a range from -38°C to 45°C. Temperatures in the capital, Sofia, average 1.6°C in January and 21°C in August.

The average annual rainfall is 672 mm with an average range throughout the country from 450 to 1 200 mm, mostly occurring from October to June. There are frequent summer droughts (see section 5.1).

The frost-free season (indicative of the growing season) is 180–215 days on the Danubian Plain, 198–206 days on the Thracian Plain, and 214–260 days on the Black Sea coast.

A few pockets in the mountains contain snow throughout the year. The lower elevations are snow covered for about a month. Average cloudiness is about 55 percent, and average relative humidity reaches 75 percent.

5. HYDROGRAPHY AND LIMNOLOGY

Table 2 indicates that the total inland water area of Bulgaria is only about 36 000 ha or 0.32 percent of the country's total area. FAO has not altered this figure for over 25 years and it is believed to be minimal.

Surface water resources are limited. The average annual run-off from rainfall on Bulgarian territory is 162 mm or 18 000 million m³. However, about 179 000 million m³ is received from upstream countries resulting in a total annual river discharge of 197 000 million m³ leaving the country (Van der Leeden, 1975; ECE, 1978).

Overall, about 57 percent of the water drains into the Black Sea and 43 percent into the Aegean basin. The northern areas have a spring run-off maximum, the southern areas a winter run-off maximum.

The northern watershed of the Stara Planina, all of the Danubian Plain, and the area from 50 to 80 km inland from the coast drain to the Black Sea. The Thracian Plain and most of the higher lands of the south and southwest drain to the Aegean. There are also about 324 km² that drain into a few salt lakes that have no outflow.

5.1 Rivers

Anon. (1967) states that there are 150 000 km of rivers in Bulgaria. Popov (1981) says that 21 000 km of the entire river network are suitable for fisheries: about 5 000 km in a trout zone, 12 000 km in a barbel zone, and 4 000 km in a carp zone. Of the 21 000 km, he states that 14 000 km, with an area of 8 500 to 9 000 ha, are suitable for fishing and fish breeding, and that the other 7 000 km are still being improved for fisheries.

Originating in the mountains, the water supply of the Bulgarian rivers is mainly from rainfall, a little from springs, lakes and marshes. There is abundant karst water and most of the springs are of this nature. All-in-all, however, most of Bulgaria's rivers carry little water, and about one-third of them dry up during the summer. The major drainage basins of Bulgaria are discussed below:

Danube drainage. The Danube (Dunav), the country's largest river, enters Bulgaria at its boundary with former Yugoslavia and Romania about 80 km below Iron Gate. It continues for 453 km along the border with Romania and then progresses for 375 km through Romania to its mouth in the Black Sea. Its flow at Orsova, 110 km above its entrance to Bulgaria, averages about 5 400 m³/sec, and it obtains only about 4 percent of its total volume from its Bulgarian tributaries. The Bulgarian side of the Danube is one of undercut bluffs and hills 90–180 m in height - contrasting with the swamps and lagoons on the lower Romanian side. In Bulgaria, the highest waterlevels in the Danube are usually reached during June floods, and in normal winters it is frozen over for about 40 days. (See Romania for further description.)

Danube tributaries. Proceeding from west to east, i.e., downstream, the major Bulgarian affluents of the Danube are the: (i) Lom (93 km); (ii) Ogosta (146 km); (iii) Iskar or Iskur (402 km); (iv) Vit (195 km); (v) Osam (333 km); (vi) Yantra (270 km), and (vii) Rusenski Lom (232 km). All of these originate in the Stara Planina with the exception of the Iskar, the third largest river in Bulgaria, which heads in the north Rila Mountains and drains the Sofia basin.

These tributaries fall rapidly to cut deep valleys through the loess of the Danubian Plain. Their eastern banks tend to rise sharply, their western sides may have broad fields with alluvial soils.

Minor Black Sea rivers. These include: Provadika, Kamchiya (245 km), Fakiyska and Veleka rivers. Collectively, they carry less water than the Bulgarian tributaries of the Danube.

Aegean drainage. The most important Aegean river is the Maritsa, the second largest river in Bulgaria. It rises in the Rila Mountains but drains the Thracian Plain, portions of the Stara Planina and eastern Rhodope. From its source south of Sofia, it flows 274 km east and southeastward through Bulgaria, forms the Greco-Bulgarian line for 16 km and then the Greco-Turkish line for 185 km, turning south to form a delta in the Gulf of Enos at the end of a 483 km journey. Not navigable, it is used for irrigation and hydropower. Its discharge is shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Discharge of the Maritsa River in Bulgaria

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

Maritsa's two most important Bulgarian tributaries are also international rivers. The Arda, which rises in the Rhodope, flows 230 km through Bulgaria to enter Greece (where it is called the Ardhos) and join the Maritsa on the Turkish border at the end of a 267-km journey¹. The Tundzha or Tundjarrises in the Stara Planina and flows through Bulgaria for 283 km to meet the Maritsa in Turkey (where it is known as the Tunca) at the end of its 332 km journey.

¹ The Maritsa is known as the Evros in Greece and the Maric in Turkey

Other than the Maritsa, the two largest of the Bulgarian rivers flowing to the Aegean are the Struma and Mesta. The Struma originates in the Rila Mountains and flows south through Bulgaria for 241 km to enter Greece (where it is known as the Strymon) and conclude its 346 km passage to the Sea. To its east is the Mesta, also rising in the Rila, flowing for 106 km in Bulgaria (a total of 241 km) to its delta in Greece (known here as the Nestos).

5.2 Lake and Lagoons

There are six types of lakes in Bulgaria: glacial, karst, tectonic, landslide, those on river banks, and littoral (Bokov, 1981).

Most of the natural lakes are found in western Bulgaria in the Rila and Purin Mountains where there are several hundred oligotrophic lakes, mostly glacially scooped or cirque lakes. Naidenow (1975) states that there are 230 of these lakes in the Rila Mountains and about 165 in the Purin Mountains, and Bokov (1981) agrees generally, saying that there are 190 in the Rila and 164 in the Purin. Popov (1981) also says that Bulgaria's natural lakes are concentrated in the Rila and Purin mountains, in the trout zone, but states that their total number is 269. Of these, he says that 161 lakes, totalling 351.8 ha, are suitable for angling. Most of these lakes are found in clusters at elevations between 1 858 and 2 709 m, mostly between 2 200 and 2 400 m.

The area of these lakes varies between 0.01 and 21.2 ha, 70 percent of them being between 0.1 and 1.5 ha. Their maximum depth varies between 0.3 and 39 m, only 5 of those in the Rilas and 11 in the Purins being over 5 m in depth.

The lakes below 2 250 m have summer surface water temperatures around 12–13°C, rarely to 20°C; higher lakes have summer surface temperatures around 10–11°C. Temperatures around 4–7°C have been recorded at depths. These lakes have an ice-cover for 200–220 days of the year. The oxygen content is high, 7.5–12 mg/l; and pH varies from 6.4 to 7.2.

Larger lakes or lagoons, some called limans, are found along the Bulgarian coast. They vary in salinity depending upon the influx of fresh water and their connection with the sea. Thus, Lake Pomoriye may be saltier than the Black Sea. Popov (1981) says that there are 18 Black Sea ponds and lakes with a total water area of 8 600 ha of which five are used for salt production and as mud spas. The others are used mainly for commercial fishing, and the Shabla, Ezerets, Kamchiya, and Dyavolsko ponds, with a total area of about 210 ha, are used for angling. They are inhabited by freshwater fishes, but during the high water of spring, sea fishes enter them.

Anon. (1967) states that the most important of these waters as fish producers are Vaia, Mandra, Beloslav, Varna and Blatiza and that these and some smaller ones have a total area of 6 050 ha. Nowak (1968) provides the following information on Bulgaria's coastal lakes. Burgas Lake, 2 400 ha with an average depth of 0.7 m, is the most important of these, yielding up to 400 t of fish annually. Mandra Lake has an area of 1 070 ha, an average depth of 1.1 m, and an annual production of about 300 t of fish, including common carp (Cyprinus carpio), pike-perch (Stizostedion lucioperca) and grey mullet (Mugil spp.). Varna Lake, 1 750 ha with an average depth of 9.5 m is comparatively unproductive - less so than its connection, Belevo (400 ha) which contains grey mullet.

Bulgaria also has some marshlands, primarily along the Danube and the Black Sea coast.

5.3 Reservoirs (Yazovir)

Some of the reservoirs in Bulgaria are created by damming rivers or basin areas, and some by damming a lake's outlet and raising the water level.

According to Naidenow (1972) there were 43 reservoirs in Bulgaria in 1970 with a total area of 320 km² and total volume of 7 thousand million m³. Conversely, Vodproekt Design Institute (in Van der Leeden, 1975) states that in 1970, there were 2 015 dams in Bulgaria with a total reservoir surface area of 45 380 ha and total storage capacity of 4 860 million m³. About 92 of these were large “State” dams. Popov (1981) further states that there are 1 820 small dams in Bulgaria covering 15 000 ha, and 147 medium-sized and large reservoirs covering 35 000 ha.

Naidenow (1972) says that the Bulgarian reservoirs lie between 50 and 2 475 m, most of them between 200 and 1 100 m. Those over 2 000 m above sea level are oligotrophic, those at lower mountainous levels (say up to about 1 550 m) are usually mesotrophic, and the largest group are dam basins in the plains below 600 m.

The small reservoirs, built mostly on the plains, are used for irrigation and fish breeding. They are stocked each year with one-year-old carp which attain marketable size by the end of the growing season. Most of the larger dams, which are used for irrigation and partly for power production, are built in the mountains and foothills between elevations 500 and 1 200 m, but some such as Kalin and Belmeken are situated at altitudes of 1 800 and 2 000 m. With the exception of some water supply and storage dams, all of the Bulgarian reservoirs are stocked with fish and used for commercial fishing and/or angling under a fee system.

The Iskar, Mesta, Maritsa, Vacha, Arda, Tundzha, Rositsa, Struma and other rivers are sites of large water development projects for power, irrigation, and/or water supply. Among the larger reservoirs are: Iskar, Batak, G. Dimitov, A. Stamboliiski, Studen Kladenez and Piasacnik. A frequently cited example of multiple use of rivers in Bulgaria is the development on the Vacha, a 120-km tributary of the Maritsa. It has six dams which produce power, water for irrigation and domestic supply, and furnish recreational facilities.

A barrage is being constructed by Bulgaria and Romania on the Danube below the mouth of the Olt (Turnu-Margurele/Nikopol).

5.4 Coastal Waters

The coastal waters of the Bulgarian Black Sea are more saline than those of Romania to its north, where the influence of the Danube's flow is far greater (see section 5.4 in the chapter on Romania).

6. LAND AND WATER USE

Table 2

Pattern of land use in Bulgaria, 1986

Source: 1987 FAO Prod. Yearb., 41 (Publ. 1988)

Agricultural production, which is mainly self-sufficient, is concentrated in State and cooperative farms covering about 99 percent of the arable land. Cereals predominate on the Danubian Plain while the irrigated Thracian Plain produces more diversified crops. A wide variety of field crops, fruit and vegetables, including warm-weather crops such as cotton, tobacco, rice, roses and grapes are produced. Fertilization, about 163 kg/ha, is above the European average (143 kg/ha). Livestock production consists mostly of sheep in the mountains and cattle and hogs on the Danube tableland.

Good soils make up about three-quarters of the country's surface, but frequent summer droughts lead to wide fluctuations in yield and necessitate extensive irrigation. About 30 percent of the cultivable land or 11 percent of the country is now irrigated (1986). Dams provide water for about half the area, diversions from streams about one-third, and pumped water from streams and ground supply the remainder. Much of the water is wasted by primitive gravity methods which may also cause loss of fish. The main water resources are concentrated in areas far away from cultivable areas, thus requiring long and expensive irrigation canals. Bulgaria has a long history of water regulation for both irrigation and drainage, as well as diking to offset flood damage and provide more agricultural land. The Danube used to flood about 50 000 ha in Bulgaria, which after recession of the water would leave 7 000–8 000 ha as ponds of considerable significance to fisheries. Now, almost all of this areas has been drained, and about 300 km of dikes have been erected along the Danubian lowland. Drainage of the lowlands and marshes along the Danube and Black Sea has been basically completed.

Aside from these demands and changes in water bodies, generally to the detriment of fisheries except where large reservoirs have been built, a number of other land and water uses have affected inland fisheries in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria produces some lumber, but ranks low (about seventeenth) in the European scale, only about 4.8 million m³ in 1985. Its forests have deteriorated through extreme use. Afforestation, which is in progress, should aid the water supply.

Mineral resources are small: some low grade coal, iron ore and pyrites, lead, zinc, copper, chromium, salt and a little oil. There are many mineral springs which attract tourists.

Although for many years Bulgaria had a peasant agricultural economy, emphasis of late has been on industrial development. Their relative positions have been reversed and about 70 percent of the people now live in urban areas. Although slowed by lack of raw materials, industry which is virtually all State-owned, has grown tremendously since the second world war. Emphasis is on machine building and chemicals; food processing and textiles are also important.

This growth has increased the demands for water and power and intensified problems of water pollution. Major pollutants in Bulgaria are iron, phenols, suspended soils, and organic matter.

In 1987, the total installed electrical power capacity in Bulgaria was 10 743 000 kW of which 1 975 000 kW (18 percent) was hydroelectric. Nuclear power was 2 260 000 kW (21 percent). The remaining 61 percent was thermal. The streams furnishing adequate sites for hydroelectric dams have been used extensively, but there is still a potential for development. Multiple use of such dams, including fishing, is frequent.

Auto roads, then railroads (about 4 500 km in 1987) and last of all ship and air furnish Bulgaria's transportation. Roads (about 37 000 km) in 1988 are difficult to maintain and hamper easy travel, they had a density of only 0.34 km/km² in 1986. Private automobile ownership is very low (as in other Balkan countries) only 54 per 1 000 persons (1978–79). The Danube River constitutes the only navigable water in Bulgaria. The International Danube Commission, formed in 1948, ensures free navigation and river management throughout this 453-km section. There are no locks or dams in the Bulgarian sector of the river and vessels of 2 500 t can be accommodated. Although the river freezes for a short time during the winter and floods in the spring, it is usable for about 300 days each year, and is the principal route for imports and exports.

Emphasis on commercial fishing in Bulgaria lies with its sea fisheries, and has been based primarily on the catch by a State-owned distant water fishing fleet based in Burgas, rather than on the limited resource potential of the Black Sea. Per caput consumption of fish is about 8.6 kg/year.

Tourism is not high, about 7.5 million in 1987 with many in transit.

7. FISH AND FISHERIES

The inland fisheries of Bulgaria include fluvial, diadromous, and euryhaline species. Popov (1981) states that Bulgaria has 65 freshwater species and 36 diadromous species, and Busnita (1967) lists 60 species in 15 families as resident in the Bulgarian Danube alone. Of these, about eight families are of commercial importance. The sub-sections that follow discuss the fishery for these and other species.

Table 3 contains the official 1965–87 catch statistics for Bulgaria's inland waters as reported by FAO based on data routinely contributed by the Government. No distinction is made here between fish derived from the capture fishery and those by aquaculture.

Table 4, derived directly from Bulgarian officials during a visit by FAO officers shows somewhat different “production” figures during the 1963–70 period. Although no clear distinction is made in this table between the yield from lotic waters through capture fisheries and aquaculture, it is almost certain that the word “ponds” indicates fish cultural ponds and that the yield from “limans” may be partially the result of “aquaculture”. Limans are brackish coastal lagoons used for “extensive culture” especially of common carp (Cyprinus carpio). The total yields for each year during the 1965–69 period in this table are greater than those reported in FAO Fishery Statistics Yearbook, 36, for the same years. Only in the figures for 1970 are they lower. Possibly some of the discrepancies are due to the rounding off of statistics used in the Yearbook; other differences cannot be explained in this fashion.

Table 3

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

0 Probably nil, negligible or insignificant; or less than 50 t during 1965–73, or less than half a ton during later years.
- None
^a probably all Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Source: 1965 FAO Yearb.Fish.Stat., 36 (Publ. 1974)
1975, 1980–83 FAO Fish. Dept. Fishery Statistical Database (FISHDAB); 1984–87 FAO Yearb.Fish.Stat., 64 (Publ. 1989)

Table 4

Statistics of fish production in the inland waters of Bulgaria, 1963–70 (in tons)

Source: Ruivo, Pillay and Nédélec (1971)

The reports further illustrate some of the difficulties of obtaining accurate figures on the catch in Bulgarian inland waters and the production through aquaculture. Thus, FAO (1980) states that “production from capture fisheries is now much less than aquaculture, which is of growing importance. There were, in 1978, some 1 500 ha under culture and some 16 630 m of cages were being utilized; total production was of the order of 8.5 thousand tons with carp the principal species but with limited amounts (300–400 t) of rainbow trout also being produced.” The report then goes on to say that during the period 1966–76, “…production from freshwater species reached the figure of 7 000 t…” and then increased by 3 000 t. These last figures agree somewhat broadly with the “official” figures in the FAO Yearbook of Fishery Statistics, except for the statistics on trout production which are decidedly augmented¹.

¹ The original draft of the Fishery Profile of Bulgaria (FAO, 1980) was prepared by Capt. K. Gaydarov, Deputy Director-General of Bulgaria's Ribno Stopanstvo in Burgas, and apparently used without change in any of the statistics quoted here, and without comparison with other FAO papers on the subject

Even different figures on aquacultural facilities are provided by Popov (1981) who says that, circa 1980, there were 105 carp breeding stations in Bulgaria covering 3 100 ha of water and 44 trout breeding stations with a water area of 24 ha. Cages installed at some dams and power stations to develop large-size carp or trout totalled 3 600 in number and a total useful volume of 142.2 m³.

In view of the discrepancies between the various sources of data quoted above, it is difficult to assess the relative contributions, whether estimated or measured, of commercial capture fisheries, sport fisheries, or aquaculture (intensive or extensive) to the inland fisheries of Bulgaria until about 1985. Discussion of this puzzling situation will be continued below.

7.1 Capture Fisheries

7.1.1 Commercial fishing

As indicated above, it is difficult to distinguish the yields up to about 1985 of Bulgarian inland capture fisheries from those of aquaculture. However, the fishery based on wild stocks is now probably smaller than that for domesticated stocks.

River fishing is concentrated along the Danube floodplain; the Bulgarian side is steeper and thus has less fish habitat than the northern or Romanian side. Among the Danube fishes taken are: the strugeons (Huso and Acipenser), European eel (Anguilla anguilla), pike (Esox lucius), many cyprinids such as common carp (Cyprinus carpio), bream (Abramis brama), bleak (Alburnus alburnus), razper or asp (Aspius aspius), barbel (Barbus barbus), white bream (Blicca bioerkna), crucian carp (Carassius carassius), roach (Rutilus rutilus), and tench (Tinca tinca), European catfish or wels (Silurus glanis), and pike-perch (Stizostedion lucioperca). According to Anon. (1967), the catch in the Bulgarian Danube during the last thirty years averaged 700 t annually (range, 100–1 800 t). This source also reports that 40 percent of this catch was composed of carp, 12 percent of sturgeon and 10 percent of catfish. Another source (Busnita, 1967) listed the catch in the main stem of the Bulgarian Danube as 600 t annually.

The most important commercial fishing in Bulgaria (again, according to Anon., 1967) is carried on in the static waters along the Black Sea coast. The principal fishes caught are grey mullet (Mugil cephalus), gobies (Gobius cephalarges) and common carp. The average annual catch from these lakes (totalling 6050 ha in area) was 700 t, exceeding 1 400 t in some years (Anon., 1967). See also section 5.2 for some other old catch figures in these lakes or lagoons.

The large reservoirs (with a total area of 20 000 ha) were reported to produce a catch of about 300 t annually, composed mainly of cyprinids and pike-perch (Anon., 1967).

The above figures (some of which seem uncertain) can be compared with those in Table 3 and 4, and supplemented by Table 5 showing the catch of diadromous fishes and mullets in the Black Sea by Bulgaria. In any case, the commercial catch of wild fish in Bulgaria has declined.

7.1.2 Sport Fishing

In 1960 there were 48 000 organized sport fishermen in Bulgaria; in 1980 there were 155 000 and 180 000 were expected in 1985 (Popov, 1981). Even if this latter estimate should be correct, the percentage of Bulgarian sport fishermen in 1985 would have been only 1.9 percent of the total population.

Popov (1981) also says that the catch in “non-industrial” waters of Bulgaria (i.e., sport catch) is over 1 000 t/year.

Fish sought by the angler in Bulgaria include: brown trout (Salmo trutta), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), sturgeons, European catfish, perch (Perca fluviatilis), pike-perch and various cyprinids such as common carp, barbel, bream, chub (Leuciscus) skobar (Chondrostoma nasus), and razper or asp.

Permission for angling is issued by the Ministry of Forests and the Timber Industry for a fixed tax which also includes accident insurance. There are various types of permits including special ones for non-residents. There are also various seasons and catch limits.

Bulgarian tourist agencies now advertise angling for trout, chub, and barbel in the Rhodope mountains, and for carp and grey mullet in lowland reservoirs. One judges from the literature that these are rather specialized excursions, and that the number of anglers fishing a specific water is severely limited. It may be that some of this angling is similar to the special hunts in Bulgaria for big-game mammals such as bear.

Table 5

Nominal catches of diadromous species and mullets in marine statistics Fishing area 37 (Black Sea only) by Bulgaria, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980–87 (in tons)

^a It seems probable to the author that several species were included in this category which Vol. 56 (Publ. 1984) of the FAO Yearbook of FisheryStatistics dropped, and shifted the 1980 and 1981 catch figures to "Mullets, n.e.i., Mugil

- This category not represented

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

Source:    1965 FAO Yearb.Fish.Stat., 36 (Publ. 1974)
1970, 1975, 1980–83 FAO Fish. Dept. Fishery Statistical Database (FISHDAB)
1984–87 FAO Yearb.Fish.Stat., 64 (Publ. 1989)

There appears to be a considerable amount of stocking and stream improvement carried on by the Ministry of Forestry and the Timber Industry and the Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union.

7.2 Aquaculture

There are two major types of aquaculture in Bulgaria: cyprinid and trout culture (mainly rainbow trout). Common carp is the principal species raised, but Chinese carps have also been introduced with a view toward polyculture. The Chinese carps used are: grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), and bighead (Aristichthys nobilis). Apparently silver carp is the major Chinese carp reared (see Table 6). Tests have also been made of two American species: buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinella) and channel catfish (lctalurus lacustris).

The main production from inland waters comes from carp ponds owned and operated by the state or cooperatives. As has been emphasized before, however, it is difficult to determine from the reports available: the pond area involved, the annual production of each species or species-group, or the yield per hectare. The following information is presented chronologically.

According to Anon. (1967), the total pond area of the Bulgarian State farms was about 1 000 ha, the annual farm yield per hectare was 2 000–3 000 kg of carp and 5 000–6 000 kg of trout, and their total annual production of edible fish was 350–400 t (see section 9.1). The State farms also produced over 10 million fry or fingerlings which were sold to agricultural cooperatives or other organizations to rear in their own waters. These fry and fingerlings were also used to stock both lowland and mountain lakes as well as rivers.

Anon. (1967) further stated that the Bulgarian agricultural cooperatives had a total pond area of over 15 000 ha towards the end of 1966, and that their total production of consumable fish at that time exceeded 3 000 t.

Ruivo, Pillay and Nédélec (1971) stated that in 1971 there were six State fish farms in Bulgaria: five entirely for carps and one for trout. They also said that there were only 1 400 ha of fish ponds in the country. Their statistics on fish production (1963–70) are shown in Table 4. It is assumed here that the “pond” production is entirely aquacultural and that the “liman” production is partly due to extensive aquaculture.

Bulgaria (1972) stated that the annual Bulgarian “production” of freshwater fish was about: (i) 5 560 t of carps from 22 460 ha; (ii) 17 t of trout from 23 500 ha; (iii) 21 340 000 fingerling carps (K_o), and (iv) 4 560 000 fingerling trout. These figures indicated that the yield of adult or consumable carps was only 247 kg/ha/year, a very low figure if indeed this were strictly aquacultural production, and decidedly different than the later report of Bulgaria/EIFAC (1974) that the average yield of Bulgarian fish farms was 2 000 kg/ha/year, or that of Fish Farm. Inter., 11 (11) (1984) stating that the average Bulgarian production was 2 500 kg/ha/year.

It has already been noted (section 7 above) that FAO (1980) stated that in 1978 there were some 1 550 ha under culture, utilization of some 16 630 m³ of cages, and that “total production was of the order of 8.5 thousand tons with carp the principal species but with limited amounts (330–400 t) of rainbow trout also being produced”.

The figures given by Popov (1981) for Bulgarian aquacultural facilities given in section 7 above will not be repeated here.

Matena and Berka (1987), apparently relying on data contributed by Bulgarian authors, also state that the average fish output obtained by Bulgarian state fish farms is above 2 000 kg/ha/year¹. They attribute this high yield to efforts of intensification, primarily fertilization and feeding, plus a favourable climate. They also specify a growing season from April to October, with a rearing season lasting two years. According to them, first year carp reach an individual weight of 40–80 g and second-year carp a weight of 600–1 200 g. Carp are rarely reared to an age of three years in Bulgaria, but when this is done, fish of 3 kg may be expected. Marketable fish are generally less than 1 kg in weight.

¹ Recent Bulgarian references to aquaculture and other fisheries not seen by the author include: Toth (1980), The Bulgarian fishery, Halázat, 26: 156–7; Janev (1979), Present state and prospects of Bulgarian fish culture, Rib. Stopan, 26:2–3; Janev (1979), Program on intensified development and modernization of Bulgarian fisheries, Rib. Stopan, 26:1–5

Ackefors (1989) estimated the fish pond area in Bulgaria to be 22 400 ha in 1984.

The most recent figures (and probably the most accurate) available to the author are shown in Table 6.

Table 6

Production from aquaculture in fish water in Bulgaria, 1986–89 (in tons)

^a Not listed separately in FAO Yearbook Fish. Stat. 4 through Vol. 64
^b Estimate

Source: FAO Fish. Info. Data and Stat.Serv. (1991)

It seems obvious that discrepancies between different authors (some of which may be due to misinterpretation on my part, but in most cases are caused by “masking”, i.e., inexact expression and a tendency to write so all-inclusively), make it difficult to clearly separate the consumable products of commercial aquaculture from those destined to stock waters used by the capture fishery, or from the capture fishery itself.

There is also some “extensive” fish culture in the brackish limans, and there is (or was) some rice paddy fish culture.

8. OWNERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT, INVESTIGATION AND AGREEMENTS

Little information is available to the author on ownership, administration, management, and investigation in inland fisheries in this republic with centrally planned economy for many years.

FAO (1980) states that the Ministry of Agriculture has the overall responsibility for fishery administration in Bulgaria, and has a Fisheries Economic Board (Ribno Stopanstvo) to assist in policy formulation and project implementation. Various institutions and enterprises work under the direction of this Board. Advisory services are rendered by the Committee for Science and Technical Progress and the National Agro-Industrial Union. There is a freshwater fisheries station in Plovdiv, and research on the main warmwater species is carried out at the Fisheries Institute at Burgas (Ackefors, 1989). The latter author also believes that there are about three fishery or aquacultural publications in Bulgaria.

Popov (1981) indicates that the cages used to rear large-size carps or trout are installed by departments of the Ministry of Forests and the Timber Industry, the Fisheries Economic Board, and Agro-Industrial complexes. Various aspects of the sport fishery including stocking and stream rehabilitation appear to be undertaken mainly by the Ministry of Forests and the Timber Industry in cooperation with the Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union. This Ministry issues angling permits. Various groups concerned with “Protection of the Natural Environment” are concerned with detection and abatement of water pollution.

Bulgaria has a bilateral agreement with Greece concerning water supply and irrigation in their boundary streams, one with Turkey concerning their boundary streams, and one with former Yugoslavia concerning common boundary streams. It also has a tri-lateral agreement with Greece and Turkey concerning boundary streams. Bulgaria also belongs to the international Danube Commission which deals with navigation and related problems on the Danube River and has participants from all the Danube countries.

9. STATE OF THE FISHERY

9.1 Yield

The statistics in Table 3 show that the “catch” of inland finfish in Bulgaria has risen decidedly since 1965: from a total of 3 900 t in 1965 to 12 860 t in 1987. The other “production” figures for Bulgaria, Table 4, for 1963–70 also show a rise with a peak in 1967. However, the only clear trend appears to be a decided increase in the production from “ponds”, i.e., apparently from aquaculture.

It is obvious that the descriptions cited above require greater precision to permit good comparisons. For example, some of the yields in Bulgaria as expressed by (or calculated from the data of) different authors are as follows:

If correct, the lowermost figures for yield are very low, and the higher ones quite high for a country at this latitude and with its prevailing water conditions.

9.2 Factors Affecting the Fishery

Water resources in Bulgaria are quite limited. Johnson and Brown (1976) claim that Bulgaria ranks with the German Democratic Republic and Hungary in having the poorest water resources in Europe¹. There are no large natural lakes in the country and the high mountain lakes are small and relatively unproductive. The “limans” along the coast are fertile, but water pollution and the growth of aquatic weeds lessen their fishery productivity. Most of the rivers have little water, some are badly polluted, and over one-third dry up during the summer. The largest river, the Danube, lacks the swamps and lagoons of the Romanian side, and its fishery is now adversely affected both by drainage of overflow areas and by upstream development.

¹ The “German Democratic Republic” is now the eastern part of the more extended Germany

Demands for water for irrigation have long been high in Bulgaria and industrialization has increased water demand. There has been a considerable amount of reservoir construction, but most of the larger reservoirs are in the mountains where the basic productivity is not high and is further lessened because of their primary use for hydroelectric power production, irrigation and water supply.

Initially low flows, made even lower through agricultural and industrial use, plus increasing water pollution have severely limited fish production. In 1972, it was considered that about 46 percent of the total length of the rivers was polluted and 1 700 km rendered fishless. The situation has not improved, and recent popular articles consider that Bulgaria's polluted waters constitute an ecological disaster (Simons, 1990; Vita, 1990). With a yearly total discharge leaving the country of 197 000 million m³, the annual runoff per caput appears very high, 21 307 m³. However, most of this discharge is confined to the Danube which runs only along the northern border of the country and thus affects only a small portion of Bulgaria. If one considers only the 18 000 million m³ of runoff originating within Bulgaria, the annual runoff per caput is only 1 947 m³.¹ This is well below the European average and renders effluent dilution difficult.

¹ These calculations are made on basis of discharges listed by both Van der Leeden (1975) and ECE (1978). Comparison of these runoff figures for Bulgaria with those of the other lower Danube countries indicate that the Bulgarian figures may be too high. Holden and Lloyd (1972) using other data state that the annual runoff in Bulgaria is 19 600 million m³ (probably referring only to runoff originating within the country), and that only 12 000 million m³ of this is “available for use”. On this basis, they calculated that the annual runoff per caput at that time was 1 450 m³

Difficulties in increasing aquatic production also impinge upon a past history of: drainage, poor forestry practices, and local abuse of the fisheries through the use of explosives and poisons.

Concentration in recent years on the development of a high-seas fishery for Bulgaria has lessened attention to inland fishery development.

9.3 Prospect

The prospects for increased inland fish production have been exagerated by some Bulgarian sources. Popov (1981), for example, states that the Programme of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Bulgaria for Accelerated Modernization and Development of Freshwater Fisheries of 1978 envisaged that the production and catch for the freshwater fisheries should increase from 9 360 t in 1978 to 12 000 t in 1979, 16 000 t in 1980, and 30 000 t in 1982 (see, however, Table 3). (The projected increases appeared to be based on the theory that increased stocking would bring about their fulfillment.) Similarly, FAO (1980), based on a Bulgarian source, stated that Government plans for aquaculture envisaged a production of 30 000 t from fresh waters and 10 000 t from mariculture (the latter with a negligible output at that time), by 1990. Rather extensive plans for the rearing of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), mullet, and several species of flatfish in the 500-ha Pomoriye lagoon and even ocean ranching for salmon are discussed in this article.

Despite all these plans, it should be noted that by 1989 the entire aquacultural production in Bulgaria was still only 11 164 t, and commercial fishing in the Danube and other streams will continue to decline. Possibly improved management and the creation of new storage reservoirs will aid the capture fishery, but basically it would appear that there can be but little augmentation in commercial production from open waters.

The opportunity for increased trout culture using mountain or spring water appears good, and application of modern methods to pond fish (mostly cyprinid) culture should result in an overall increase in inland fish production. But here, as elsewhere, this will not occur unless the place of fisheries in multipurpose land and water use is firmly established. Recreational fishing will continue to grow slowly.

10. REFERENCES

Bokov, G. (ed.), 1981. Modern Bulgaria, history, policy, economy culture. Sofia, Sofia Press Agency, 469 p.

Bulgaria, 1972. Rapport de la Bulgarie. In FAO/EIFAC country reports on fish diseases and their control and national and international traffic of live fish and fish eggs. (FAO/EIFAC Meeting Paper). Rome, FAO, FI: EIFAC/72/SC II-Symp.9:6–7

Bulgaria/EIFAC, 1974. Country report on inland fishery activities in Bulgaria, 1973. (Paper sent to EIFAC Secretariat by Bulgaria's EIFAC Correspondent for the 8th Session of EIFAC, 1974)

Bulgariia, 1983. Statistcheski godisshnik na Narodna Republika Bulgariia. Sofia, 673 p.

FAO, 1980. Bulgaria. Fishery Country Profile. Rome, FAO, FID/CP/BUL. Rev. 1:4 p.

Keefe, E.K., et al., 1974. Area handbook for Bulgaria. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, DA PAM 550-168:329 p.

Kostov, D., 1928. Geografiia na Bulgariia i susednite durzhavi. Plovdiv, 289 p.

Naidenow, W., 1972. The formation of fauna in Bulgarian barrage lakes. In Productivity problems of freshwaters, edited by Z. Kajak and A. Hillbricht-llkiuska. Warszawa-Kraków, Proceedings of the IBP-Unesco Symosium on Productivity problems of Freshwaters. Kazimierz Doluu, Poland, May 6–12, 1970, pp. 901–8

Naidenow, W., 1975. Biologische Eigenheiten der Glazialen Hydrofauna aus den Gebirgen Rila und Pirin (Bulgarien). In Limnology of shallow waters, edited by J. Salanki and J.E. Ponyi. Budapest, Akademiai Kiado, pp. 281–4

Nowak, W.S.W., 1968. The economic oceanography of the Bulgarian fishing industry. Tijdoschr.K.Ned.Aardrijksk.Gensot., (79):21–50

Popov, B.S., 1981. Bulgaria, fish-breeding, angling. Sofia, Sofia Press, 33 p.

Ruivo, M., T.V.R. Pillay and C. Nédélec, 1971. Report of a visit to Bulgaria, 2–9 May 1971. FAO Fish.Travel Rep.Aide Mem., (561):9 p.

Simons, M., 1990. Bulgarians kept in dark on pollution. San Francisco Chronicle, March 30, 1990, pp. A-25, A-27

Valev, E.B., 1949. Bolgariia. Ekonomiko-geograficheskoe opisanie. Moscow p. 36

Winston, V.H., 1957. The land. In Bulgaria, edited by L.A.D. Dellin. New York, Frederick A. Praeger, pp. 28–58

Anon., 1967. Bulgaria: la piscicoltura d'acqua dolce. Gazz.Pesca, 14(6):64–5