So far, extensive deep sea trawling, in waters beyond 100 fathom depths,
has not been attempted in Indian waters except for occasional hauls taken
by the INVESTIGATOR (Alcock, 1891-1900) and other Expedition vessels
(Gunther, 1887, Max Weber, 1913. Norman, 1939). During March-May 1963
M.F.V. 'Kalava' of the Indo-Norwegian Project, carried out 9 exploratory
cruises off Alleppey and Ponnani on the South West Coast of India at depths
ranging between 150 to 205 fathoms (274-374 m.). Large quantities of bathypelagic
fish were taken during these cruises, in areas on the continental slope
(Fig. 1). 24 species belonging to 23 genera and 19 families have already been
described by Tholasilingam et al. (1964). Nearly 82% of the catch was represented
by about 11 bathypelagic species taken at the rate of up to 496 kg.
per hour of trawl, in the richest grounds. Since such occurrence has not been
recorded so far, a quantitative assessment of these bathypelagic fishes along
with deep sea prawns, lobsters and squids, has been given in the following
pape
