After a brief account of both past and present fishpond management and of its impact on the fishpond vegetation of higher plants, a survey is given of the biomass and total net production in various types of communities constituting this vegetation. Relatively stable and unstable communities are distinguished and further differentiated by the dominant plant life-forms. The biomass and production data are highly variable, depending on actual conditions in the fishpond habitats, but the maximum recorded values of annual net production (in terms of dry matter produced per year) appear to decrease in the following order: the communities dominated by ochthohydrophytes (over 3kg.m−2)-hydroochthophytes and euochthophytes (about 2kg.m−2)-pleustophytes and aerohydatophytes (upto 1kg.m−2)-euhydatophytes (upto 0.5kg.m−2). The original data were gathered in Czechoslovakia and the conclusions apply to fishponds in Central Europe.