neritic zone

The marine life zone in the water over the continental shelves. It is strongly influenced by its proximity to land, hence neritic organisms must be able to tolerate greater change in temperature and salinity than oceanic organisms.

Neritic zone spans from the low-tide line to the edge of the continental shelf in oceans. The neritic zone has a low water pressure and fairly stable temperature and is a home to most of the world's great fishing areas. As a result, this zone is particularly rich in living things. The neritic zone together with estuaries account for total productivity of sea. This zone is occupied by a large number of species viz., bacteria, dinoflagellates, oysters, etc.

The neritic zone is the continental shelf after the Intertidal zone to the continental cliff, where the continental crust ends and the oceanic crust begins. After the Neritic zone comes the open ocean zone, also called the pelagic zone.