FISHEEIES OF KEY WEST. 59 



industry. The law of Florida prohibits sponge divers from operat- 

 ing in State waters. However, most of the divers' boats fish not 

 closer than 9 miles from shore. 



Sponges have been grown by artificial culture 8 but comparatively 

 little has been done in this direction during the past 10 years. 



FLORIDA CONCH. 



The conch of Key West. (Strombus gig as) is a large gastropod 

 that is used to a limited extent as food. It is found in shallow 

 water near the shores of the keys and is easily captured with a sponge 

 hook or by hand. It is also found in the Bahamas and the "West 

 Indies. It sometimes attains a length of 1 foot and a weight of 5 

 pounds. The animal itself, which averages about 1 pound in weight, 

 is incased by a large thick shell. Very often the inner lining of the 

 shell is beautifully tinted with pink, and choice specimens are sold 

 in local novelty shops for 25 or 50 cents each. When sold as food, 

 the flesh of the animal is removed from the shell and for convenience 

 in handling is strung on a small stick. It is peddled about the city 

 at about 5 cents for each conch. During 1918 about 2,000 pounds, 

 worth $100, were sold in Key West. 



The conch requires several hours' cooking to render it palatable. 

 One person in the city prepares a chowder in concentrated form, 

 which is preserved in glass jars or friction-top cans. In this form 

 small quantities of the preparation are sold by mail. In the West 

 Indies and the Bahamas the most desirable parts of the conch shell 

 are exported to Europe, where they are utilized by cameo cutters. 

 Conchs are plentiful enough to supply the present demand, but the 

 supply could easily be depleted by overfishing. 



CLAM INDUSTRY OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA. 



What is probably the largest bed of hard clams in the United 

 States is to be found off the southwest coast of Florida, in the region 

 of the Ten Thousand Islands. The bed is about 40 miles long and 5 

 miles wide and is estimated to contain an area of nearly 150 square 

 miles that produces clams. The southern part of this bed is about 

 70 miles from Key West and can be reached in less than 24 hours 

 with a small sailboat. 



The hard clam is of minor importance in the Key West fisheries 

 but of considerable importance on the southwest coast of Florida. 

 The small catch landed in Key West is due to the lack of demand 

 by the local population rather than to the distance of the clam beds 

 from the city. 



Since 1889, at least, Key West boats have made occasional trips for 

 clams during the spring, summer, and fall. The journey is seldom 

 made during the winter because more profit can be made at that time 

 in catching kingfish and spiny lobsters. From 1889 to 1915 the 

 annual catch landed in Key West varied from 10,000 to 25,000 clams. 

 During 1918 eleven trips were made by two fishermen, who operated 

 the only boat engaged in this business. The total catch for the year 

 amounted to 38,000 clams. 



9 A Practical Method of Sponge Culture. By H. F. Moore. Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of 

 Fisheries, Vol. XXVIII, 1908 (1910). B. F. Doc. No. 669. 



