PhytoplanktonPhytoplankton (PP) are are tiny plant-like organisms that live in the ocean and the name comes from the Greek words phyton, or plant and planktos meaning wanderer or drifter. Most species are microscopic and cannot be seen individually with the unaided eye. PP require sunlight, water, and nutrients for growth in the same way that plants on land do. Most sunlight is available at and near the sea surface so these organisms remain at or near the sea-surface. At times and when present in high enough numbers, they can appear as a green discoloration of the water due to the presence of chlorophyll within their cells. Chlorophyll is used by plants for photosynthesis, in which sunlight is used as an energy source to fuse water molecules and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, plant food. Just like plants on land, the carbohydrates are the building blocks of growth, so when fish and humans consume these plants they use the same carbohydrates to grow. You can see in the true-colour NASA image below the clouds of phytoplankton blooming off the south western side of Norway in the North Sea. The bloom stretches out in three directions.
The oceans around the world are amazingly rich in PP and they are the foundation of the marine food chain. A number of smaller fish, and some species of whales, eat these plant-like organisms as food. In turn the larger fish then eat the smaller fish, and we humans catch and eat many of these larger fish. PP depend upon certain conditions for growth, so they are a useful indicator of change in their environment, and climate change. 
There are about 5,000 species of marine PP, although in terms of numbers, the most important groups include the diatoms,
cyanobacteria
and dinoflagellates, although many other groups of algae are represented.
PP are grown under artificial conditions (aquaculture) for a variety of purposes, including food for other organisms that are being grown using aquaculture, and a nutritional supplement for fish in aquariums. These operations range in size from small scale laboratory units with a litre or of media so to commercial farms that use tens of thousands of litres.
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