A study on distribution, abundance and species composition of phytoplankton in the
South China Sea has been carried out since 1995 as one title of the Interdepartmental collaborative
Program. The investigations were done in the Area I ( Gulf of Thailand and east coast of Peninsular
Malaysia), Area II (Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei Darussalam) and AeraIII (western Pilippines).
The last area was focused on phytoplankton in the thermocline layer