Seasonal Fluctuation in Abundance and Species Composition of Demersal Fishes in Cheonsu Bay of the Yellow Sea, Korea

Demersal fish community in Cheonsu Bay was analyzed using fish samples collected by a small otter trawl from March to November, 1986. Of the 32 species identified, Nibea argentatus, Chaturichthys stigmatias Crptocentrus filifer, Cynoglossus joyneri and Jonius belengeri pre-dominated in abundance. Based upon principal component analysis of species composition data, the fishes were grouped into resident, migrant and temporal species. Resident fish wintered in the deeper part of the bay, showing a peak in biomass during cold months. In spring, warm weather seasonals, adult N. argentatus and J. belengeri, migrated o the bay for spawing. However, the biomass of the migrant was not more than that of the wintered adult residents. From July to September, juveniles of many species were collected, but the number of individuals was smaller than that of the littoral or pelagic zones. This suggests that the deeper area of the bay did not serve as a main nursery ground of the juveniles with the exception of two migrant scianid fishes. As a result, the benthic fish of the bay were more abundant in cold months than in summer.