Values were noticeably high in winter and autumn but drops in spring and causing a stress
condition and a resultant loss of biodiversity. The marked reduction in salinity values may be due to the huge quantities of discharged water, or may be due to the disposal of ballast water. This appeared by the lowest average salinity values recorded at stations 1 and 2, both under direct wastewaters influence, while the highest average salinity values were generally recorded at stations 5 and 10. In the long term, average salinity decreased from 37.0 PSU in 1985 to 35.3 PSUin 1999—2000 and still as the latter average value during the present study