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pletely corrected the condition. One could suspect that this would be 
the situation in the New York Bight. 
We will probably find that this area will remain polluted for many 
years. One can make no exact predictions, but if it follows anything 
like the Biscayne Bay area, we will have an impoverished bottom 
for many years in the New York Bight; and so if we decide to move 
the dumping to another area, this should be kept in mind. If indeed 
we do have a new interim dumping area, this should be done with a 
considerable amount of scientific study. 
There should be investigations, samples taken routinely, to see if 
dumping in a new area has any immediate effect; and, if it does, then 
we obviously have to correct ourselves. 
Realistically, this is the situation that we find ourselves in. As a 
scientist who has studied these problems, I realize you cannot place 
the blame on any one individual or institution; as Pogo has said, 
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” It is largely human pollution 
which has caused this condition, and it is basically a socio-economic 
problem that must be considered. 
This was, incidentally, one of the basic recommendations of an 
ad hoc Interior Department report, which was recently completed. 
Your committee may have a copy of it. If you do not, I will be glad 
to furnish you with one. 
Mr. Dinceiu. I would appreciate it 1f you would consult with Mr. 
Everett to make sure we do have a copy of it. The Chair at this time 
will direct the counsel] to see to it that such portions of that report 
as are appropriate are inserted into the record of this proceeding in 
the appropriate place. 
Doctor, tell us about the cost of this now. Can you give us some 
ideas as to the cost of moving the dumping further out to sea, the 
loss of value of the fisheries that are affected by this dumping? 
Dr. Pearce. You cannot really put environmental issues in dollars 
and cents, at least at the present time. Obviously, if I may make an 
analogy with the air pollution conditions in New York, in the long 
run if one-half of New York City develops cancer of the lung, 
emphysema, and bronchitis from air pollution, then there is a real 
dollar-and-cents value involved. 
Mr. Drncett. But it is not presently definable. 
Dr. Pearce. At the present time, in terms of the loss to fisheries 
resources, it is easily definable, except that if you examine the reports 
that are put out each year by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, you 
will notice that each year there appears to be a decline in catches of 
different species. In some cases the catches remain constant, but this 
may reflect a more aggressive attitude on the part of fishermen; with 
declining resources the fishermen only try harder to maintain the 
catches. Again, this is something that would be better considered by 
someone from the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries who is more con- 
cerned with such information than I am. If, however, the ecological 
environment of the New York Bight is allowed to deteriorate, then one 
could imagine the day when there would no longer be any appreciable 
numbers of striped bass in the Hudson River drainage system; and 
we would find ia just as the weakfish, sheepshead, and other species 
have disappeared, so these and other forms would disappear. 
