• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.794-803
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• 1997

Long line suspended culture of oysters has been started commercially in Hansan-Koje Bay since 1969. However, its Annual production has been decreased and culturing periods extended in recent years. So, we investigated environmental parameters and food organisms to identity the causes of poor fatness of oysters in Hansan-Koje Bay from February to November, 1994. As the result, the Water quality of Hansan-Koje Bay was found to be good for culture. For example, the mean concentration of COD was $1.35mg/\ell$, phosphate phosphorus was $0.30{\mu}g-at/\ell$ and dissolved inorganic nitrogen was $4.68{\mu}g-at/\ell$. However, the Hwado island and the inner part of the Hansan-Koje Bay were found to be eutrophicated due to various contaminants transported by land-based activities. But in the central pan of the Hansan-Koje Bay where the oyster farms Have been developed densely, the level of nutrient concentration was very low. During the study period, the dominant species of phytoplankton was Chaetoceros spp. with the percentage of $72.6\%\~87.8\%$ and the mean values of Chlorophyll-a concentration and phytoplankton standing crops were $2.05mg/m^3\;and\;188ind./m\ell$, respectively. The distribution of these parameters also showed similar trends those of nutrients. Especially, chlorophyll-a contents was very low with the concentration of below $0.5mg/m^3$ at central part of the Bay, Juklimpo. The fatness of oysters and the eutrophic index in this area were $18.1\%$ and 0.54, respectively. These values were lower than those of other culturing farms in the southern coastal areas in Korea. Therefore, we estimated that the insufficient food supply due to the low level of nutritional status was the major factors affecting the poor fatness of the Pacific oysters in Hansan-Koje Bay.