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Non-protected areas
Fish ponds
The origins of the pond industry in the O¶więcim-Zator Region date back to the 13th c. It is one of the oldest and biggest carp husbandry centres in Poland. The famous royal carp comes from the Zator area. The total surface area of the local ponds is approximately 3000 hectares. The largest and at the same time the most interesting pond complexes are: Przeręb, Spytkowice, Bugaj, Grojec, the Monów Ponds and Brzeszcze-Nazieleńce. The biggest pond, with a surface area of 78 ha, is Pond Pilawa within the Przeręb fish farm (near Zator). It is however an exception, as the vast majority of the local ponds don"t exceed 40 ha of water surface. High density of water bodies and the fact that some of them have been part of the landscape for centuries make them a refuge for numerous animal and plant species, which gives the region not only national, but also continental significance.
The presence of many rare bird species in the O¶więcim Basin was a basis for selecting three refuges for the Nautra 2000 system (a system of protected areas of the European Union): The Lower Skawa Valley, The Lower Soła Valley and the Brzeszcze Ponds. The pride of the region is the Night Heron - a bird whose almost all Polish population is concentrated in the area of O¶więcim, Zator and Skoczów. Other representatives of the avifauna which nest here and are endangered in Europe are e.g. the Great Bittern, the Little Bittern, Podiceps nigricollis The Black-necked Grebe, The Purple Heron, The Ferruginous Duck (a duck endangered at the world scale), the Red-crested Pochard, Limosa limosa the Black-tailed Godwit, Tringa totanus the Common Redshank, the Whiskered Tern (the largest population in Poland), the Black Tern, the Little Crake and the Bluethroat.
Also some plant species, otherwise dying out in Poland, have found refuge here: waterworts, the bog bulrush, the water chestnut and the floating heart. Especially the last two plants occur here in great abundance, having become a floristic symbol of the O¶więcim-Zator Region. Most of the pond complexes are farming zones, closed to the public. The least contentious and at the same time the most comfortable place for watching the wildlife of the fish ponds, are public roads and marked hiking trails that run next to the ponds. They afford excellent view and safety for both tourists and birds.
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