The end of the nineteenth century saw the publication of the first works on plankton of the Norwegian Sea.
In 1886 G. O. Sars wrote about abundant zooplankton in the banks off the Norwegian coast and the rich fauna of the cold waters. In their monographs, Gran (1902) and Damas (1905) also dwelt on plankton of the Norwegian Sea. Gran singled out the groups of plankton characteristic of the Atlantic, mixed and Arctic waters. He believed that the terms of development of plankton depended on the thermal state of the Atlantic Current.