Kryva Bay and Kryva Spit

Colony of Pelecanus crispus on the arrow of the Kryva Spit.
Salicornia europaea L. on the salt marsh of Krivokoski bakai.
"Nursery" of Larus ichthyaetus.
Colony of Thalasseus sandvicensis on the Kryva Spit.
Birds on the arrow of the Kryva Spit.

Kryva Bay and Kryva Spit

  • Country: 
    Ukraine
  • Site number: 
    774
  • Area: 
    11,861 ha
  • Designation date: 
    28-02-1997
  • Coordinates: 
    47°04'N 38°04'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

This shallow sea bay is made up of three sandy-shell spits, beaches, silt islands, and shallow lakes. In winter the bay is covered with ice. The Site supports reed thickets, saline meadows, and swamps, and includes emergent and submergent plants and short grasses. Several thousand water birds winter there and one of the largest palearctic colonies of sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) with up to 30,000 pairs can be found. Two endangered migrant bird species visit the Site: the red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis) and the great bustard (Otis tarda). Three species of critically endangered sturgeons depend on the Site as well as the marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna). Human activities include conservation education, recreation and fishing. Since 2008, the water level in the inland water bodies of the spit has been decreasing for unknown reasons, and some of the smaller water bodies have completely dried out. In 2021 the Site was extended by 10,461 hectares to include the entire bay area.

Administrative region: 
Donetsk Region

  • National legal designation: 
    • National Nature Park - Meotida
    • Ornithological Game Reserve of local importance - Kryvokosky Liman
    • Ornithological Game Reserve of state importance - Yelanchanski bakai
    • Ornithological Nature Memorial of local importance - Kryva Kosa (Spit)
    • Ornithological Reserve of state importance - Bakai of Kryva Bay
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • Other international designation
  • Last publication date: 
    08-06-2022