Wintering pits on the map: where fishing is banned in winter
Protected stretches from the orders of the regional fisheries offices (Derzhrybagentstvo) on one map. Exact boundaries where coordinates were published, the rest by the order’s description.
- 23regions
- 1008areas in orders
- 551shown on the map
- 8with official coordinates
All wintering pits of Ukraine
season 2026-2027Zoom in to see area boundaries. Click an area for the order’s description.
Regions
23Open a region: the order, the list of areas and a map of that region only.
What is a wintering pit
A wintering pit is a deep stretch of a river or reservoir where fish gather for the winter and barely move. They are defenceless there, so fishing is banned from 1 November until the spring spawning ban begins.
The list of pits is approved every year by orders of the regional fisheries offices. Most orders describe the boundaries in words (“500 m downstream from the bridge”); only a few regions publish coordinates.
How to read the map
Polygon from the coordinates in the order or in the office’s official reply.
End points are official, the banks are cut from the river outline on the map.
Drawn from the order’s wording (bridges, dams, village limits, area). May differ.
The order gives only the coordinate of the pit’s centre.
No coordinates; the boundary is described in words. Listed for the region but not on the map.
Where the data comes from
Every area comes from a current order of a regional fisheries office (PDF linked in each region). We copy them verbatim and add no bans of our own.
We sent public-information requests to the regions that do not publish coordinates. As replies arrive, the boundaries on the map are updated.
The map helps you navigate, but the legally binding text is the order itself. In doubt, open the PDF or ask the local fisheries patrol.
FAQ
What is a wintering pit?
A deep stretch of a river or reservoir where fish gather for the winter and barely move. Fishing there is banned from 1 November until the spring spawning ban starts. The list is approved every year by the regional fisheries offices.
Where do the boundaries on the map come from?
From the orders of the regional fisheries offices (Derzhrybagentstvo). Where the order publishes coordinates, the polygon is exact; where it only describes the boundary in words, the stretch is drawn approximately from that description and marked as such.
Is the map an official source?
No. The legally binding text is the order itself; a PDF is linked on every region page. The map helps you navigate and check the stretch before you fish.
Why are some areas not on the map?
Most regions do not publish coordinates, and many descriptions cannot be placed reliably. Such areas are listed on the region page with the order text. We have sent public-information requests for the coordinates and update the map as replies arrive.
Wintering pits in the app
The “Winter pits” layer is on the Viskaart map in the app: with geolocation you can see whether you are standing on a banned stretch.
