A Food and Drug Administration inspector checks the temperature of crabmeat 

 being canned as part of an overall inspection of processing plant sanitary controls. 



enables the halibut industry to sort fish by size and geographic area of harvest, 

 greatly reducing mercury levels and reducing the time and cost involved in 

 assuring fish products which comply with FDA standards. These studies 

 may also offer a basis for managing other fishery resources which are or may 

 become involved in environmental contaminant problems. 



Because the physiological effects of contaminants, such as heavy metals 

 and chlorinated hydrocarbons, and the pathways by which they penetrate 

 the marine ecosystem are not fully understood, NOAA began a study in 1971 

 aimed at developing this knowledge. The study is focusing on the marine 

 ecosystems of the New York Bight, the California Current, and saltmarsh 

 estuaries along the Middle Atlantic coast of the United States. 



At the request of the AEC, the National Academy of Sciences last year 

 prepared a report updating and summarizing current knowledge concem- 



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