(Table 1) Biomass of plankton in the Sea of Japan at Station VITYAZ6674

Vertical distribution of zooplankton biomass from the surface to bottom layers (3400 m) is examined. Material was collected layer by layer by a BR 113/140 net at 41°59' N and 133°37' E on July 2 and 3, 1970. Quantity of plankton below 1000 m was found to be much less than at corresponding depths in the adjacent regions of the ocean. This impoverishment is due to absence of oceanic bathypelagic animals in deep layers of the Sea of Japan. Absence of specialized predators (plankton-feeders) deep in the Sea of Japan results in underconsumption of interzonal animals that sink to great depths. Upon dying they should reach the floor in larger quantities than in the ocean.