CHAPTER 1 



along bathymetric contours north and south through the 

 Bight. Until 1977 a tew Middle Atlantic Bight species 

 (e.g., mackerel and silver hake) were exploited heavily 

 by foreign distant-water fleets and stocks were reduced. 

 Most of the Middle Atlantic finfish stocks (other than 

 mackerel) of interest to U.S. fishermen have not declined 

 drastically in recent decades. Since 1970 increased land- 

 ings have been reported for bluefish, and weakfish. 



The relative contributions of important Middle Atlantic 

 Bight fish species to recreational and commercial landings 

 are summarized in figure 1-5. 



ORGANIC AND NUTRIENT LOADINGS 



Potential eutrophication of Bight Apex waters was iden- 

 tified by Segar and Berberian (1976). Had the 1976 anoxic 

 event been confined to the Apex, an assessment of the 

 cause might have been much simpler. However, the af- 

 fected region extended nearly to Cape May, which added 

 to the complexity of understanding the situation. Wastes 

 from land (fig. 1-6) contributed to the general degradation 

 of Apex waters and sediments (Swanson 1977). Of these, 

 inputs of organic carbon and nutrients are of primary con- 

 cern with respect to the oxygen-depletion event. 



Mueller and others (1976) summarized average anthro- 

 pogenic loading of the Bight from various sources. Geo- 

 graphically the sources are direct inputs to the Bight from 

 ocean dumping and atmospheric fallout, flow from the 

 Hudson-Raritan estuary through the Sandy Hook, N.J. — 

 Rockaway, N.Y., transect, and contributions from the 

 Long Island and New Jersey coastal zones. Types of inputs 

 include sewage sludge, dredge spoil, and acid wastes from 

 ocean dumping, atmospheric fallout, municipal and in- 

 dustrial wastewaters, and runoff (gauged and urban). 

 Daily mass loads of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus and 

 the percentage contributed by geographic area are given 

 in table 1-1. Figure 1-7 shows the percentage contribution 

 by various sources. The values are estimates of total an- 

 thropogenic loading and indicate relative significance of 



Table 1-1. — Daily mass loads of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus 

 entering New York Bighl from human activities' 



Directly Sandy Hook New Long 

 Mass into Rockaway Jersey Island 

 load Bight- transect' coast coast 



lO^kg/d Percent 

 Total organic carbon 2.60 37 



Total nitrogen 0.52 29 



Total phosphorus 0.14 51 



' Source: Mueller et al. 1976. 



^ Ocean dumping and atmospheric fallout. 



' Hudson-Raritan estuary. 



each disposal activity. However, certain limitations must 

 be considered when using the data. The values represent 

 average maximum loads available to the Bight. They do 

 not reflect the amount of any constituent lost by sedi- 

 mentation, decay, leaching, and biological uptake (Muel- 

 ler et al. 1976). This analysis of mass loading is important 

 in developing carbon, nutrient, and oxygen budgets. If 

 human activity is considered a significant driving force in 

 causing oxygen depletion, we can more specifically iden- 

 tify priority areas for better management. 



There are of course natural oceanic processes that sup- 

 ply nutrients to the New York Bight. Their relative con- 

 tributions have been estimated, but are incompletely 

 understood. Any evaluation of relative impacts of an- 

 thropogenic loading must include careful consideration of 

 natural processes as well. 



PREVIOUS MORTALITIES AND OXYGEN 



DEPLETION EVENTS IN NEW YORK 



BIGHT 



Localized mortalities of fish and shellfish have been 

 observed and reported previously from the New York 

 Bight area. Causes of such mortalities usually have not 

 been determined, but several of the mortalities had char- 

 acteristics similar to the extensive 1976 inortalities. 



A fishkill was reported along the ocean side of Jones 

 Beach in Hempstead Bay, N.Y., from September 17 to 

 22, 1951. Both surface and bottom waters were affected. 

 Observation of large fluke (22-23 kg) among the dead fish 

 suggested that the condition occurred well offshore. The 

 cause of the problem was not positively identified (Perl- 

 mutter 1952). 



Fishkills were reported off New Jersey in 1968, 1971, 

 and 1974 (Ogren and Chess 1969; Young 1973; Young 

 1974). There might have been earlier similar events that 

 were not observed or reported. Those documented resem- 

 ble the event of 1976 in that: 1) sedentary organisms found 

 around reefs and wrecks were killed; 2) reports originated 

 from the same general area; 3) depressed oxygen levels 

 were considered a contributing factor; and 4) suspended 

 flocculent material was present in the water column. The 

 1976 episode differed from those of previous years in that; 

 1) it began before the end of June, compared with the 

 August-October period of earlier occurrences, and 2) hy- 

 drogen sulfide, not previously reported, was detected in 

 lethal concentrations in 1976. It may have been present 

 but not observed in earlier episodes. 



Previous reports of mortalities covered much smaller 

 areas. The 1968 event, which appears to have been the 

 most extensive of the earlier kills, included a zone from 

 Sea Bright to Surf City, N.J., a distance of 7U km, and 

 extended from 1 to about 10 km offshore. The total area 



