ABSTRACT 



The U.S. Coast Guard has been conducting a tarball samphng program since 

 December 1971 and to date over 1000 tows have been made. These tows have 

 been made in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Labrador Sea, Gulf of Mexico, North 

 Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. In general, low tar concentra- 

 tions are found in the polar areas, the average concentration being less than 0.03 

 mg/m^, and can probably be attributed to the small number of natural seeps and 

 limited amount of man's activities in these areas. High average concentrations 

 ( > 1.65 mg/m^) were found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans and 

 the Gulf of Mexico where man's activities in the form of both drilling and ship- 

 ping are greater. 



