14 FISHERIES OF THE COASTAL WATERS OF FLORIDA. 



MR. ARAPIAN ON THE FLORIDA SPONGES. 



Iii compliance with a request, Mr. E. J. Arapian, the well-known 



sponge-dealer of Key West, furnished the following interesting and 

 valuable information concerning the commercial Florida sponges. Mr. 

 Arapiau has been in the sponge business for many years, and is familiar 

 not only with the sponge-grounds of Florida, but with those of other 

 parts of the world : 



Distribution. — Spcmges on the coasts of Florida are to be found starting from Bis- 

 cayne Bay and vicinity, on the southeast of Florida, and around all the keys in south 

 Florida, more or less in places; then, proceeding toward the west coast of Florida, 

 they are found at Gasparilla Island, Osprey, New Pass, Sarasota Key, Mullet Key, 

 Sand Key, Clearwater Key, Long Island, Anclote Keys, up to Cedar Keys, and from 

 Cedar Keys up to Apalachicola Bay. 



The fiber of sponges of the same species found on the above-mentioned sponge bars 

 differs somewhat, according to the location of these bars. Those from a place called 

 Fishbone Key sponge-grounds are of much thicker fiber, and thereby stronger and 

 much heavier in weight than sponges gathered at other places. Fishbone Key is about 

 25 miles from Cedar Keys. At Pepperfish Key, about 12 miles from Fishbone Key, 

 the sponges are also of thick tissue or fiber and of heavy weight, but not quite as 

 much so as those from Fishbone Key. At another place, called Ocilla Bay, in contrast 

 to the two above-mentioned places, sponges are of very thin fiber; therefore of light 

 weight. Ocilla Bay is about 40 miles northwest of Pepperfish Key. 



Character of the bottom. — The bottom on which sponges grow is of a ridgy or undu- 

 lating rock, which looks alive to the eye, so to say, and is invariably covered with a 

 species of short moss and tall sea feathers. The rocky bottoms on which there is no 

 growth of moss and sea feathers have always been found to be bare of sponges also. 

 This moss is of several colors, viz, either red, brown, or white. 



It is my impression that the root of a sponge is of the same color as the rock on 

 which the said sponge has been growing. It has certainly been noticed that every 

 species of sponge, in its natural condition, and before being artificially bleached, 

 has either a red or a brown or a white colored root, which corresponds with the 

 color of the rock on which the sponges have been growing. It is also my belief that 

 the color of the sea moss and the sea feathers is the same as that of the rock on 

 which such moss and sea feathers are growing. If the bottom is of red rock, the 

 sponges growing on it will also have red roots, and the sea moss growing on the 

 same rock will be of red color. If the bottom is of brown or white rock, the roots of 

 the spouges growing on it, as well as the sea moss, will have the same colors. 



Depth of water. — Sponges are to be found at present at a depth of from 12 feet to 

 about 50 feet. In deeper waters the bed rocks are generally scattered, few in 

 number, anil of short extent. The bed rocks in deeper waters than 56 feet seem to 

 be of a different nature, and barren. The bottom on the west coast of Florida is 

 generally sandy at greater depths than 56 feet, according to the general reports of 

 the oldest of the sponge fishermen here. 



Abundance. — Sponges are still abundant on the coast of Florida, but the almost 

 continual bad weather at sea during the last three years has prevented the securing 

 of as large quantities as formerly. 



Relative size. — The different species of sponges in Florida waters attain sometimes 

 quite large proportions. The species called sheepswool, yellow, and grass sponges 

 attain the largest sizes. There are frequently seen sheepswool sponges measuring 



15 inches in diametor by 20 inches in depth. The heaviest sheepswool sponge that 

 I have come across weighed 17 pounds. It was secured in the Northwest Channel 

 near Key West. Other species, as the glove sponge and the hardhead sponge, do 

 not usually j^row to larger sizes than 8 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 inches in depth. 

 Some few larger specimens have been secured at times, however. 



