Report to the Congress on ocean pollution, overfishing, and offshore development, July 1975 through September 1976 Submitted in compliance with Section 202 (c), Title II of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-532)

Major changes in governmental responses to the challenge of managing and protecting marine resources took place during fiscal year 1976; the necessity of active management of marine resources had become clear. Underscoring the urgency of marine environmental protection as an important part of management, Long Island ocean beaches had to be closed in late June when tons of floating trash, much of it looking suspiciously like sewage, washed up on them from the New York Bight. In each area — pollution, fisheries, and offshore oil development — as well as others, research on long-range effects was conducted under Title II, Section 202 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-532) to contribute to national efforts to meet the challenges. This report focuses on six major areas of this research conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce: studies of the New York Bight, investigations of the relationships of heavy metals and selected marine organisms, experiments on the effects of petroleum on marine animals, research on the status and effects of overfishing, work on the environmental questions raised by deep-ocean mining, and assessment of the environments of potential offshore oil lease areas. These are summarized in the following three sections of Part I and described in more detail in Parts II, III, and IV. Earlier title : United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Report to the Congress on ocean dumping and other man-induced changes in the ocean ecosystems Available in other form: Report to the Congress on ocean pollution, overfishing, and offshore development. Later title : United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Report to the Congress on ocean pollution and offshore development Oct. 1977/Sept. 1978