Karkinitska and Dzharylgatska Bays

Wite Pelicans near the island Dzharylgach
Breakfast of the chicken of Gray Herons on the Cakinitsky islands
The wet chicken of Sandwich Tern on the island  Dzharylgach
Chicks of the Common Tern on the island Dzharylgach
Young Yellow-legged Gull on the Cakinitsky islands

Karkinitska and Dzharylgatska Bays

  • Country: 
    Ukraine
  • Site number: 
    114
  • Area: 
    147,556.7 ha
  • Designation date: 
    11-10-1976
  • Coordinates: 
    46°00'N 33°15'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

These shallow Black Sea bays comprise several island spits and surrounding waters. Vegetation consists of steppe and coastal communities including reedbeds, vast aquatic meadows, salt-tolerant plants and grasses; many species are endemic. The Site features one of the largest uninhabited islands in Europe – Dzharylgach – which is an important barrier to protect the shore from storms and erosion. It is an important area for waterbirds, with up to 150,000 migratory and 130,000 wintering individuals. The threatened white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) and common pochard (Aythya ferina) are among these. The shallow bay provides habitat for endemic and threatened fish including four endangered sturgeon species. Human activities include commercial and recreational fishing, hunting, livestock and grazing. People benefit from the Site’s resources such as fish, molluscs, corn and drinking water. The Bays’morphology and water level are strongly influenced by winds, currents and river discharge. The Site’s boundary was calculated more accurately in 2021, increasing the area by over 60,000 hectares.

Administrative region: 
Kherson Region, Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, Ukraine

  • National legal designation: 
    • National natural park - “Dzharylgatsky”
    • Nature Reserve - Crimean
    • botanical reserve - Dzharylgatsky
    • natural reserve - Karkinitska Bay’
    • ornithological game reserve - Lebedyni Islands
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • Other international designation
  • Last publication date: 
    09-08-2022