Deep-sea exploratory surveys have added several new species to the biodiversity of the Indian icthyofauna. These surveys have also identified new fishing grounds besides quantifying the resource potential of previously unexploited fishes such as the myctophids and oceanic squids.
The role of marine organisms as providers of ecosystem services in the South-East and North-East Arabian Sea upwelling systems is elucidated in this essay. Services such as primary production, fish production, carbon sequestration, algal blooms and ecotourism are thus studied.
