FISHERIES OF THE COASTAL WATERS OF FLORIDA. 57 



vessel's share, and the hookers are given a quarter share by the owner 

 in addition to their regular shaves. The cost of the outfit per trip is 

 about $100, and from one to five trips are made each seasou. 



In 1805 and 1896 there were three sponge dealers or buyers at Tar- 

 pon Springs. These had their sponge-houses near the mouth of Anclote 

 River, a number of miles below Tarpon Springs. The sponges are sold 

 at auction, as they are at Key West, and the prices are practically the 

 same as at that place. The purchases of these dealers in 1895 amounted 

 to about $60,000, and consisted of sponges caught not only by local 

 vessels but by those from Key West, Apalachicola, and elsewhere. 



Statistical summary . — In 1895 the fishing industry of this section gave 

 employment to 1,251 persons. The vessels engaged in taking or trans- 

 porting fishery products numbered 37, and had an aggregate tonnage of 

 402.35; these and 746 boats used in the shore fisheries were valued at 

 $113,671. The value of the apparatus of capture was $24,209, and that 

 of the shore and accessory property and cash capital was 8107,695. 

 The total investment in the industry was thus $245,675. The catch, 

 amounting in value to $259,508, was divided as follows among the dif- 

 ferent classes of products : 



Fish * IS 1 , 06 1 



Oysters 21,334 



Alligators and otters 25,675 



Sponges 30, 875 



Turtles 563 



FISHERIES OF CEDAR KEYS. 



Geographical features ani prominent fisheries of Cedar K< ys. — At one 

 time Cedar Keys seemed destined to occupy the first place as a fishing 

 center on the west coast of the Florida peninsula, as it was the ter- 

 minus of the only railway reaching the Gulf except one running to 

 Pensacola. This advantage was lost, however, by the building of railway 

 lines to Homosassa, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Punta Gorda, and the 

 fisheries, while important, are much less valuable than at a number of 

 other points. Cedar Keys is located several miles from the mainland, 

 on a key of the same name. The railroad is built partly on piles and 

 partly on small keys. Owing to this necessary method of construction, 

 communication is liable to interruption by storms washing away part 

 of the tracks. Several such storms have occurred in the past few 

 years; the worst of these was in September, 1896, when a great deal 

 of damage was done to property in the town, especially to fish houses 

 on the wharf, and most of the railroad was washed away, the place 

 being without rail communication for nearly two months. 



The principal features of the fishing industry of Cedar Keys are the 

 mullet, oyster, and terrapin fishing and the wholesale fish and oyster 

 trades. The place is also the shipping point for the mullet and other 

 fish taken at camps along the coast brought in by transporting vessels. 

 The wholesale trade is in the hands of seven firms; two firms handle 

 fish, oysters, and turtles, and five handle oysters exclusively. 



