Candida or other hydrocarbon-degrading organisms. Such organisms are 

 known to attack and break down, emzymatically, components of petrochemi- 

 cals such as olefins, napthas, and other organic compounds. 



d. Food Chain Studies . To determine how toxic materials may be 

 taken up by marine organisms, a better understanding of the marine food 

 chain and basic predator-prey relationships of marine life in the Bight 

 is necessary. Biological studies have not yet shown the extent of the 

 temporal and spatial effects of ocean dumping on commercially valuable 

 marine species in areas outside the dumping grounds. 



The results of the stomach content analysis of fishes performed by 

 SHL indicated that yellowtail flounder, winter flounder and ling ingest 

 primarily benthic organisms, such as polychaete worms, amphipods, and 

 bivalves. VVhiting appear to feed primarily on epibenthic and swimming 

 organisms such as mysids, sand shrimp, and fish. Less than 5 percent of 

 the fishes that were sampled in the area of the dumping grounds contain- 

 ed in their stomach such sewage-sludge artifacts as hair, band-aids, and 

 cigarette filters. Whether ingestion of these materials is selective or 

 accidental during normal feeding, is now known. Yellowtail flounders 

 sampled in the sewage dumping grounds contained in their stomachs up to 

 25 percent sand and gravel, and since these are not food resources, it 

 can be assumed that fish ingest foreign materials accidentally. The 

 number of fish ingesting such materials, however, is small and may not 

 be too objectionable, except esthetically. More important, however, is 

 ingestion of materials that include heavy metals and pathogenic micro- 

 organisms. Whether such ingestion of harmful materials occurs, and to 

 what degree, is not known with certainity. 



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