Distribution of zooplankton off Westland, New Zealand, June 1979 and February 1982

Oceanic zooplankton concentrations and populations, off Westland, New Zealand sampled in June 1979 and February 1982, were found to be generally typical of those for subtropical regions. The most abundant coastal species were the copepods Oithona similis, Acartia ensifera, Paracalanus indicus , and Centropages aucklandicus , and the euphausiid Nyctiphanes australis ; the copepod Clausocalanus pergens was abundant in June 1979. Advective processes appear to play an important role on this coast. They are apparently responsible for (1) introducing larger Zooplankton biomass (in the form of Salpa fusiformis ) into the area than can be supported by the observed phy‐toplankton concentrations, (2) particular distributions of oceanic surface copepods species in June 1979, and (3) reduction in the concentrations of some neritic species off Wanganui Bluff.