ICHTIlYOFAUNA OF OSHORO BAY AND ADJACENT WATERS Kiyu KOBAYASHI

Oshoro Bay is situated at ca. 14.5 km west of Otaru Harbour in Hokkaido, facing the Japan Sea. Additional to the fact that the bay and adjacent waters are rich in the variety of habitat, the waters are influenced by a cold current from winter to spring and by the Tsushima warm current from summer to autumn. Therefore, the fauna of the waters is abundant and various. On the ichthyofauna of the waters, about 147 species have been recorded by Mr. Toyoji Hikita (unpublished), since the Oshoro Marine Biological Station of Hokkaido University was established in 1908. With the exception of his manuscript, there are only two reports on the ichthyofauna of the Japan Sea coast of Hokkaido; Hikita & Misu (,51) and Kobayashi ('60). The present list was made under the guidance of the late Prof. Shin-ichi Sato of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University. Most specimens were c611ected since 1957 within the bay and from the adjacent waters by means of trinal nets, long lines, drag nets or in the course of shore sampling while the rest were taken from the fishing grounds off the bay and the adjacent water