54 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



The hawksbill turtle is too scarce about Key West to be considered 

 of much commercial importance. The shells of the few that are 

 caught by local fishermen are kept or sold as novelties. The size of 

 those that are seen ranges from 10 to 15 inches, measured over the 

 longest distance of the back. In Key West these turtles bring from 

 $1.50 to $10 each, according to the size and condition of the plates. 

 The largest specimen of which there is a record measured 34 inches. 



SPONGE FISHERY. 



Detailed accounts of the Florida sponge fishery have already been 

 published, 4 and therefore the subject will be treated only very briefly 

 in this paper. The old methods of buying, selling, and packing 

 sponges used 30 and 40 years ago are still in vogue, and the fishery of 

 to-day is much the same as it was many years ago. The publication 

 by Dr. H. F. Moore gives an exhaustive account of the sponge fish- 

 eries and has been drawn upon liberally in securing data for this 

 chapter. 



Florida sponges had a limited domestic use among the inhabitants 

 as far back as the early part of the nineteenth century, or soon after 

 Key West was settled in 1822. It was not until 1849, however, that 

 these sponges became of commercial value. In that year a cargo of 

 sponges was sent to New York on a venture and resulted in the grad- 

 ual building up of this industry in Florida. 



Until 1891 Key West held almost an absolute monopoly of the trade 

 in the United States, but at that time a small sponge mart was 

 established at Tarpon Springs. Because of more advantageous local 

 conditions, the waning of the catch on the Key grounds, and especially 

 because of the development of diving for sponges, Tarpon Springs 

 has become the leading sponge center, relegating Key West to a poor 

 second. 



Table 6 shows the extent of the sponge fishery 5 on the Gulf Coast 

 of Florida for the years indicated, from 1895 to 1918. The weights 

 used are taken after the sponges have been cleaned and dried and 

 before they are baled for shipment. The average weights of different 

 grades are as follows : Glove, wire, and yellow, each 1| pounds per 

 bunch; grass and large wool, 2| pounds per bunch; small wool, 1 

 pound per bunch. 



Table 6. — Quantity and value of sponges taken on the Gulf coast of Florida 

 in certain years from 1895 to 1918. 



4 Commercial Sponges and the Sponge Fisheries. By H. F. Moore. Bulletin, U. S. 

 Bureau of Fisheries, Vol. XXVIII. 1908 (1910), Part I. B. F. Doc. No. 667. 



6 Fishery Industries cf the United States. Report of the Division of Statistics and 

 Methods of the Fisheries for 1919. By Lewis Radcliffe. Appendix X, Report, U. S. Com- 

 missioner of Fisheries for 1919 (1921), pp. 160-161. B. F. Doc. No. 892. 



