Water and Sediment Characteristics in the Shellfish Farms of the Western Part of Jinhae Bay

The environmental characteristics in shellfish farms were investigated in the western part of Jinhae Bay, 1996. During summer, anoxia and high nutrient concentrations were found in the bottom waters of shellfish farms. The concentrations of particulate organic species in seawaters were enriched, showing an average 57.44 uM for POC, an average 5.45 uM for PON, and an average 0.42uM for PP. The sediments environment in the farms was very polluted. The concentrations of COD and AVS were more than 20 mg/g.dry and 0.5 mg/g.dry, respectively. The total sedimentation rate was high as an average $7.81g/m^2/day$ with organic matter contents of $26\%$. Oxygen consumption rate was similar to polluted area as an average of $439mg/m^2/day$. Nutrient release rates were an average of $8.25mg/m^2/day$ for nitrogen and an average of $1.38mg/m^2/day$ for phosphorous. The cluster analysis through environmental data in summer indicated that DO, nutrient in the bottom water, and AVS in the sediment were important factors to characterize the polluted environmental site.