The quantitative distribution ofTemora turbinatain summer appears to be governed in the New Zealand region by subtropical currents and by its nutritional requirements. The existence ofT. turbinataprincipally in coastal waters suggests that threshold nutritional conditions exist beneath which this species cannot breed.Temora turbinataapparently attains very large numbers only in enclosed or semi‐enclosed bodies of water, where wholesale exchange of local water with adjacent water does not take place. Australian and New Zealand populations may be kept mixed by the introduction of animals from the Australian coast in the meandering zonal jet which leaves the East Australian Current at about 34° S.