Primary production in the Kuroshio current surrounding Taiwan

Primary production in the Kuroshio current flowing around Taiwan Island was measured by using the radiocarbon method. High values of the daily primary production were found in both the aquacultural area at the western coast and the polluted area with raw rubbish heaps at the Keelung-Patoutzu coast. In the upwelling region of southeastern coast, low values of the primary production were observed. In the eastern coast, the rate of photosynthesis for an unit amount of chlorophylla under the saturated light was in the range of 1.2±0.2 mg C/mg chlorophylla/hr. Some discussions are made on the observed results.