The Environment Ministry announced Tuesday it will study the Ariake Sea off Kyushu to supplement ongoing Agriculture Ministry studies aimed at unearthing the causes of this season's poor seaweed harvest.

It will not, however, focus on the controversial reclamation project in Nagasaki Prefecture's Isahaya Bay that some blame for the poor harvest.

The emergency study will focus on the quality of water and sediment at 20 points around the Ariake Sea. The study will measure indicators such as oxygen levels, organic and inorganic materials in both water and sediment, as well as benthic organisms, invertebrates that dwell on the sea bottom.

The survey is scheduled to start at the end of the month and will be finished by the end of March. Ministry officials hope to convene a group of experts to review the results and release them as soon as possible, possibly in April.

While it is hoped the study will shed light on the condition of the Ariake Sea as a whole, ministry officials are unsure of possible conclusions from the results because there is limited historical data with which to compare it. It will at least serve as a yardstick for future comparisons and for the battery of studies to be carried out next year.

The specific survey points are being discussed and will be selected so as not to overlap with other government surveys.