The abundance of virus like particles (VLP) was determined for the first time in the water column and sediment of Coliumo Bay and on a station on the continental shelf off central Chile. The VLP decreases with depth in the water column with a surface maximum of 4.1 x 10(7) VLP mL-1 and 5.87 x 10(7) VLP mL-1 on the shelf and Coliumo Bay, respectively. In the sediments the VLP ranged between 4.28 x 10(8) VLP mL (Coliumo Bay) and 1.01 x 10(8) VLP mL (shelf). The abundance of VLP is higher at the Bay both in the water column and in the sediment.