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Within the Gulf of Riga Project, phytobenthic and associated animal communities were sampled in 1995 and 1996 using SCUBA techniques. Theaim was to quantitatively describe the phytobenthic communities and their distribution and to evaluate the present status of the phytobenthos in comparison to earlier investigations, as well as its contribution to the ecosystem of the Gulf as a whole. Classification and ordination analysis showed differences among the different areas of the Gulf of Riga, where Saaremaa, the Parnu area and the middle and the inner part of the Gulf formed distinctive groups. The inner part and the Parnu Bay area are influenced by the nutrient and pollution load ofmainly the rivers Parnu and Daugava. The intermediate western and eastern coasts of the Gulf of Riga, as well as the northern coasts along the island of Saaremaa seem to hold phytobenthic communities of comparable composition and biomass found elsewhere in clean areas of theBaltic Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]