This book was first published in 1979.This book was first published in 1979. If we are to improve our control and conservation of the food resources of the oceans of the world it is particularly important to increase our understanding of the basic mechanisms that control the abundance, distribution and production of marine organisms.This book was first published in 1979. If we are to improve our control and conservation of the food resources of the oceans of the world it is particularly important to increase our understanding of the basic mechanisms that control the abundance, distribution and production of marine organisms.This book was first published in 1979. If we are to improve our control and conservation of the food resources of the oceans of the world it is particularly important to increase our understanding of the basic mechanisms that control the abundance, distribution and production of marine organisms. The Productivity Marine (PM) section of the IBP filled an important role in concentrating international effort on specific problems of production, ecosystem structure and function, aquaculture, and the effects of mankind upon the marine environment.1. Introduction M. J. Dunbar; 2. Primary production in Frobisher Bay, Arctic Canada E. H. Grainger; 3. Primary production in some tropical environments S. Z. Qasinm; 4. Biological productivity of some coastal regions of Japan K. Hogetsu; 5 Factors determining the productivity of South African coastal waters J. R. Grindley; 6 The Strait of Georgia Programme T. R. Parsons; 7. Biological production in the Gulf of St Lawrence M. J. Dunbar; 8. Patterns of the vertical distribution of phytoplankton in typical biotopes of the open ocean H. J. Semina; 9. The Dutch Wadden Sea M. van der Eijk; 10. Seaweed utilization in the Philippines G. T. Velasquez; 11. Trophic relationships in communities and the functioning of marine ecosystems: I Studies on trophic relationships in pelagic communities of the Southern Seas of the UlS(