Parabolic stationing method application to intertidal shellfish (Sinonovacula constricta) and growing waters microbiological monitoring in Yueqing Bay, China

This study reported microbiological monitoring by parabolic stationing method for S. constricta and their growing waters, and application for the first time in Yueqing Bay, China. The results indicated that numbers of Escherichia coli and aerobic colony count in S. constricta flesh showed an approximate 'parabola' distribution across the whole shellfish bed. Numbers of faecal coliform in seawater samples were significantly higher in the top of the bay, and lower in the lower half of the bay, whilst higher located in the edge of the bay than the center in contrast to three sampling sites on the same latitude. Numbers of total bacterial count were not significantly correlated with faecal coliform in seawater samples. Finally, the shellfish production areas were classified based on three batches of E. coli monitoring.