The Phylum Chaetognatha, the members of which are popularly
known as 'arrow worms'is a holoplanklonic group found in all
the oceans in the epi. mesa and bathypelagic zones. The animals
play a vital role in the marine food web forming food for a variety of
animals and themselves feeding on a host of zooplankters. Recognising
the importance of chaetognaths in the marine ecosystem, the
CMFRI had taken up irwestigations on different aspects of these
organisms to understand their role as predator and prey in the food
chain. The facilities offered by several ocean going research vessels
enabled us to get a comprehensive picture of the chaeiognaths
of our EEZ. The present paper is a digest of the work done at the
CMFRI on the distribution, ecology, biology and taxonomy of the
Chaetognatha of the Indian EEZ
