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amounts of waste to be dumped in this area may increase by 4 per- 
eent per annum. This increase simply accompanies the increase in 
our standard of living, throwing away more material, plus the in- 
crease in population. 
So, if this dumping continues, one can expect and in fact we have 
observed that the area will increase. 
With regard to moving the dumping area, it is the thinking within 
the Marine Laboratory, and in consultation with other people in the 
Department of the Interior, that this might be feasible. Particularly 
if we take the heavy metals or the industrial products out of the 
domestic sewer sludge so you really have only human organic waste. 
This material could then be spread over a much larger area where the 
ocean environment might absorb it, at least for an interim period until 
such time as on-shore facilities are developed which could be used to 
process sewer sludge into something useful or, as Dr. Ketcham has 
said, to recycle this material back into our environment. 
As it is now, Iowa corn is fed to cattle which are shipped to and con- 
sumed in New York City, and we then take the energy left in human 
waste materials and dump it into the New York Bight, a limited por- 
tion of the Atlantic Ocean, where it cannot be completely assimilated. 
This is a very real problem. 
An even greater problem is what to do with dredging spoils, because 
the dredging spoils removed from much of the New York metropol- . 
itan area are very toxic in the environment, as Dr. Gross’ studies have 
indicated and as our studies have found. These materials are regularly 
deposited in the New York Bight and they are the type of material 
which it is extremely difficult to find something useful to do with. 
They are toxic so you cannot use them for routine fills in road build- 
ing and other positive actions, but they are also toxic to the marine 
environment. 
I would be glad to try to answer any particular questions that you 
gentlemen might have. 
Mr. Dincetu. Doctor, can you identify for the record the species of 
fish and wildlife in the area, and indicate what the effect of this dump- 
ing is on fish and wildlife in that area? It is obvious there are large 
numbers of mollusks, crustacea, and fish that pass through. Can you 
tell us about this? 
Dr. Prarce. There are a number of species that have commercial 
value. The occurence of these depend upon the season. In many cases, 
fish are seasonal. Winter flounder, for instance, are found inshore 
during the winter, and tend to move offshore in the summer. Bluefish 
and striped bass are migratory forms which move into this area at 
different times of the year. 
They must, however, have to pass through this debilitated area. All 
of these fish while they are moving into and through this area must 
feed. Some of them are what we call bottom-feeders. They feed upon 
shellfish; that is, crabs, shrimps, and the clams that are found at the 
bottom of the sea. If they cannot find sufficient food, it may possibly 
affect their ability to migrate and reproduce. 
The pollutants in the water might, for instance, even affect their 
orientation. This is in the realm of speculation, but considerable 
amounts of work have been done on the effects, for instance, of copper 
