Since 1962 phytoplankton and microzooplankton composition are monitored every weekday at the station Kabeltonne (54°11.3′N, 7°54.0′E) as part of the Helgoland Roads long term data series. This data set contains the total abundance of the wider taxonomic groups bacillariophyceae, and dinophyceae of the phytoplankton community observed in 1988. Additional meta-information and further documentation are also provided in the section Documentation.