Recent evidences suggest that the proportion of cell-free relative to the total EEA is usually comparable or larger than to the cell-associated. Yet, it is unknown what is the fate of those cell-free enzymes in ocean (which are still active) nor what controls their activities. We found that the activity of cell-free enzymes is affected by both temperature and UV light and that this effect was enzyme specific, suggesting a link between warming and the degradation of organic matter in the sea.