Zoobenthos and fish communities in the Färjsundet-Lumparn area 1993

In the Färjsundet - Lumparn area (earlier studied in 1971 - 1973 and in 1989) 15 stations. representing gradients from inner, sheltered bays to the open coast , were revisited in 1993 in order to get an up-to-date picture of the situation and also to identify changes that may have occured since 1989. One new station was included in order to improve the covering The parameters studied include hydrography, zoobenthos and fish. In order to complete a baseline analysis of the Aland archipelago started in 1991, the fish communities were studied from early July through September, covering 10 stations with a depth range from 3 to 6 m completed with 6 deeper stations with a depth range from 16 to 23 m using Swedish standard gill-nets,. The results for the zoobenthos show that the trend reported for the period 1973 - 89 has continued, in that biomasses have remaind low in the inner parts of the transects. with drastically increasing values towards the open areas. The fish communities show similar trends. with a positiv correlation between the fish abundance and the zoobenthic biomass. In conclusion. the results from 1993 indicate a slight improvement in the state of the area with possible slightly decreased (or stabilized) signs of eutrophication. The nutrient load, however. remains the main sourse of stress in the system