FISHERIES OF THE COASTAL WATERS OF FLORIDA. 35 



to land, sell, and ship their catch. For many years the bay has been 

 temporarily resorted to by some vessels of this class. Cheaper supplies 

 and more ready communication ought to produce quite an exodus of 

 fishermen from Key West and other remote keys. 



The commercial fisheries of this bay have never been important. 

 When this region was visited by a representative of the Fish Commis- 

 sion in 189."), the only economic fishing ascertained to exist during the 

 previous years was a limited business in turtles and line-caught fish, in 

 addition to the sponging done by Key West vessels. By October, 1896, 

 when the region was again visited by employees of the Commission, but 

 few changes had taken place, although there had been a slight increase 

 in the amount of local fishing and in the extent of the retail trade. 



The principal fishing in the Biscayue Bay region is for sponges, which 

 are practically all taken by Key West fishermen. Pens for the clean- 

 ing and bleaching of sponges have been located at various points around 

 the bay. It is thought that sponge fishing in this section might be 

 profitably undertaken by local fishermen. 



The capture of green turtles is the most important fishery in which 

 the people of the bay are engaged. In 1894, when the business was 

 less extensive than formerly and the season very poor, a few boats 

 belonging at Lemon City, Miami, and Cocoanut Grove spent a short 

 time in turtle fishing in Biscayue Bay and on the adjacent reefs. The 

 turtles are taken by means of nets and pegs. About 205 turtles, with 

 an aggregate weight of 6,175 pounds, and with a value of about $708, 

 were caught in the year named, about 175 of these being secured in 

 the bay. Turtles are sent in sailing vessels to Key West, whence they 

 are shipped north. According to the fishermen's testimony, this fishery 

 is much less remunerative than formerly, because of the increasing 

 scarcity of the turtles. The green turtle, which is one of the most val- 

 uable of the water resources of Florida, has undergone a noteworthy 

 diminution in abundance iu this region within a comparatively few 

 years, and it is generally thought that some protective legislation is 

 necessary in order to preserve it from practical extinction. Mr. Ralph 

 M. Munroe, of Cocoanut Grove, one of the best-informed persons on the 

 bay, states that green turtles are now very scarce, and if their extermi- 

 nation is to be prevented they will have to be artificially propagated if 

 the present indiscriminate methods are coutinued. Formerly they bred 

 in large numbers in the bights of the keys forming the eastern boundary 

 of the bay and young could frequently be seen. Now but few resort to 

 this place to breed and the supply is practically exhausted. 



Loggerhead turtles are comparatively abundant, but there is no reg- 

 ular fishery for them, and they are taken principally for family use. 

 Several hundred, with an average weight of 300 pounds, are taken each 

 year in the spring by people living around the bay. In 1894, however, 

 this species was less plentiful than usual, and only about 100 were 

 secured, against 300 or 400 in previous years. The eggs of this turtle 

 are utilized in large quantities. 



