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haps epidemic—fin rot in fish. Now it is clear that it is responsible for 
serious gill damage in lobsters and crabs. 
In addition, the evidence that has been collected on this indicates that 
there are, as I mentioned earlier, substances in the sewage sludge and 
in the wastes that are being dumped that would be very harmful to 
human beings. We simply can’t afford to do what was done in Santa 
Barbara, California or in the Gulf of Mexico, wait until disaster 
strikes, and then try to move in with the mop afterwards to minimize 
that damage. This area is of tremendous importance to the New York 
Metropolitan area. If the beaches on Long Island and Brooklyn were 
closed down, it would cause an economic catastrophe in the areas, since 
the recreational industries are their principal source of revenue. 
Furthermore, the social damage that would be done would be just 
incalculable. New York is a very crowded city. The cities of New 
Jersey that border on this area are very crowded. The one real release 
that these people have in the summertime is the ability to go to the 
beaches. I would shudder at the consequences of having to close down 
all of these recreation areas in the New York Metropolitan area. 
One of the most annoying and difficult aspects of the “Dead Sea” 
problem has been the difficulty in getting accurate informed scientific 
data. It’s not that the data isn’t available. It is. But the issue has been 
obscured by bureaucratic obfuscation. A good example is the comment 
by Locke Mouton, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs for the Corps, which 
was reported in the New York Times on February 20. He said, and I 
quote, “I imagine lots of fish that haven’t read such newspapers as the 
New York Times have swum through the polluted waters and I un- 
derstand that they’re getting along just fine.” 
This, from a responsible official of the agency charged with protect- 
ing our coastal waters, might lead us to believe that the problem was 
not so serious after all. In fact, as you will discover from the scientific 
testimony that I will make available today, this is simply not true. 
Fish and other marine food resources are gravely threatened by the 
“Dead Sea.” 
The situation is too serious for the committee to be deprived of 
factual hard data. For that reason I requested that Interior Secretary 
Walter Hickel make available to the committee this morning the 
scientist who has actually been conducting the Sandy Hook studies. 
He is here with me this morning ready and able to answer any and all 
questions that the committee may have regarding the very grave situ- 
ation in New York Bight. 
I am pleased to introduce Dr. Jack Pearce, research biologist. He 
will testify. 
Mr. Drneett. Dr. Pearce, the committee is very happy to welcome 
you, and we are anxious to hear your comments. The Chair does note 
that we do have several of our colleagues here whom we will have to 
hear. If there is no objection, we will defer hearing your testimony 
until after we have heard from Mr. Mikva and Mr. Howard. 
Mr. Orrincer. Mr. Chairman, if I may, I would like to complete my 
statement, and then have Dr. Pearce here with me to help answer any 
questions that you may have. : 
Mr. Dincett. That will be entirely appropriate. 
