Abstract
To compare the seasonal distribution of the rabbitfish, Siganus fuscescens off Utsumi, where the Sagarame, Eisenia arborea marine forest still remains, with that off Toyohama, where this type of forest has vanished, the authors investigated the rabbitfish catches of small-scale set-net fishery in 2004. Further, to analyze the seasonal distribution of rabbitfish around the eastern coast of Ise Bay and the coast of Mikawa Bay, the authors investigated the rabbitfish catches of small-scale set-net fishery by obtaining information from fishermen in 2004. This result suggests that rabbitfish were mainly distributed in Mikawa Bay. Toyohama lies closer to Mikawa Bay than Utsumi dose; therefore, the grazing pressure of rabbitfish off Toyohama may be stronger than that off Utsumi. It is believed that the high distribution of rabbitfish is one of the main factors responsible for the disappearance of the Sagarame marine forest around the eastern coast of Ise Bay.
