Vaya Lake is one of the four lakes of the Burgas wetland complex surrounding the city on the Black Sea coast. It is the largest Bulgarian coastal lake, and is connected to the sea through a canal which gives the water a brackish composition. The Site hosts more than 74,000 waterbirds of 240 different species during migration periods. It also hosts numerous plant and animal species which are protected under the Biological Diversity Act of Bulgaria and listed as threatened under the national and global Red Lists. These include the white-headed duck, red-breasted goose, European eel and Greek tortoise. The operation of a petrol refinery close to the lake caused some significant changes in the past, as has the establishment of a wastewater treatment plant. There is no Site-specific management plan, but the Site is managed through the National Action Plan for Conservation of Wetlands of High Significance.