The reports on field collections or observations all show perturbations in the data coinciding in time with the sequence of events occurring at the Terminal Island Treatment Plant and localizing around the site of the outfalls. In general, there were net reductions in fish, bacteria and benthic invertebrates as well as reduced bird populations and possible smaller net reductions in phytoplankton and zooplankton following the conversion of the plant to secondary treatment. Further reductions, even more pronounced, ensued following the diversion of the fish cannery effluents into the treatment plant. It is now apparent that the harbor has been converted from the richest and most diverse soft-bottom community on the southern California coast to a less productive environment. The loss of food resources previously contained in the effluents has resulted in large order net reductions of organisms that fed directly or indirectly on the wastes. In brief, the food web that previously existed has been reduced in scope and magnitude by so-called improvements in physical water quality. The studies presented here are felt to document the ecological role in the harbor played by the effluents discharged there.

A report for the City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering, [for the] Terminal Island Treatment Plant and the Environmental Protection Agency, Report to Congress on seafood waste effluents, for the Tuna Research Foundation. Includes bibliographical references. Microfiche.