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PART I. POLLUTION IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT 
A. Introduction 
The New York Bight is a slight indentation of the Atlantic coast, 
extending northeasterly from Cape May Inlet, New Jersey, for some 
200 miles to the eastern end of Long Island, New York, at Montauk 
Point. Its coastline is generally a moderately sloping sand beach 
shore, broken by indentations of the sea into the land. Among these 
are a number of small inlets along -the New Jersey coast, Lower Bay 
of New York Harbor, East Rockaway Inlet, Jones Inlet, Fire Island 
Inlet, Moriches Inlet, and Shinnecock Inlet. 
Depths in the Bight generally exceed 100 feet about 50 miles off 
shore but are substantially less than that in most inshore areas. 
The bottom is mostly sandy and is subject to shifts due to tidal 
actions or storm surges. Consequently, channels have been dredged 
and maintained by the U.S. Engineers to accommodate the large volume 
of sea commerce into the industrial and commercial) complex of Greater 
New York. Sandy Hook Channel leads into Sandy Hook Bay and Raritan 
Channel branches off into Raritan Bay. Ambrose Channel is the prin- 
cipal entrance into New York Harbor leading to Upper Bay and New York 
City. The inlets to the east (East Rockaway, Jones, and Fire Island) 
are also subject to shifting sands from time to time. 
The New York Bight is a contrast in extremes. It contains the 
only remaining strip of virgin barrier beach between Cape Cod and 
Cape Hatteras (Island Beach State Park, New Jersey) and supports the 
most heavily populated and industrialized complex in the country-- 
between Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Jamaica Bay, New York (Fig. 1). 
The Bight supports some of the most heavily utilized and valuable 
recreation areas in the country. For example, New Jersey's four- 
county coastal waterway supports a two-billion-dollar recreation 
industry annually and New York's Coney Island beach recorded 22 mil-. 
lion visitors in 1968. The Bight area also supports excellent sport 
and commercial fishing resources. Some of the finest oyster grounds 
are found in this area; approved shellfish harvesting operations for 
inshore and offshore clams continue within sight of the New York 
skyline. Both New York and New Jersey contemplate removal of inade- 
quately treated sewage effluent from condemned inshore shellfish 
waters that will assure even greater shellfish production in this 
area. 
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