Marine primary productivity trends in coastal waters of New Zealand

Phytoplankton use a pigment called chlorophyll-a (chl-a) to capture the sun’s energy through the process of photosynthesis.

https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/marine-primary-productivity-data-to-2023/

This indicator estimates the amount of phytoplankton in ocean water. Phytoplankton are microscopic algae and primary producers. They form organic matter that ultimately enables those higher up the food web to survive.

Marine primary productivity from the growth of phytoplankton is important because it is the process that forms the basis of food webs in marine environments, and because phytoplankton can help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Pinkerton et al., 2023).

The provider report satellite measurements of the near-surface concentration of chl-a (in milligrams per cubic metre, mg/m³) in the coastal (territorial) and oceanic waters around Aotearoa New Zealand. Greater chl-a concentrations indicate more phytoplankton and more primary production – the amount of energy going into the base of most marine food webs.