FISHERIES OF THE COASTAL WATERS OF FLORIDA. 63 



out custom-house papers, the others, 11 in uuuiber, being of 3 or 4 tons 

 burden. The vessels aud boats, without their apparatus and outfit, had 

 a value of $7,420. The crews numbered 80. 



The Apalachicola sponge vessels usually go to the Rock Island 

 grounds early in the season, then to Sea Horse Key, off Cedar Keys, 

 then down the coast to tbe Auclote region. The grounds between Sea 

 Horse Key and Anclote are those most resorted to. Most of the catch 

 is sold to Tarpon Springs dealers. Nearly all of the sponge vessels 

 engage in oystering a part of the year, and several of them are also 

 employed in transporting fish. 



The product of the sponge fishery of Apalachicola in 1895 was 7,356 

 pounds of sponges, almost all of the sheepswool variety, for which the 

 dealers paid $11,981. 



There are two sponge-dealers at Apalachicola who handle chiefly the 

 catch of the local fieet. One of these also makes purchases at Anclote, 

 where the principal part of this business was done in 1895. The 

 handling of sponges gave employment to 19 persons. The value of the 

 sponge warehouses and fixtures was about $4,150. The cost price of 

 the sponges purchased in 1895 was * 10,207. This sum, however, does 

 not represent the value of the Apalachicola sponge fishery, as some of 

 the vessels did not sell to local dealers and as the latter bought from 

 outside vessels. 



Seine and gill-net fishing. — The taking of fish by means of seines and 

 drift gill nets is the most prominent feature of the fishing industry of 

 Apalachicola and Carrabelle; more persons find employment in this 

 branch, more capital is invested therein, and more products are taken 

 than in any other fishery. The fishery is more extensive at Apalachi- 

 cola than at Carrabelle. 



In 1895 the number of persons who engaged in this form of fishing 

 was 335; 147 of these used gill nets and 255 used seines, 67 persons 

 employing both kinds of apparatus. The gill nets numbered 69, had 

 an aggregate length of 44,400 feet, and were valued at $1,895; the 

 mesh is from 3 to oh inches. Forty seines were operated ; these had a 

 combined length of 26,955 feet, and were worth $3,280; the mesh was 2£ 

 to 3 inches. In the setting and hauling of the nets and seines, 78 sail- 

 boats and 53 rowboats were used, and in transferring the catch from the 

 fishing-grounds to the markets 19 small vessels were employed ; the 

 investment in boats and vessels was $10,200. 



The principal fishes taken in the seine and gill-net fisheries of this 

 county are mullet, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, pompano, trout, 

 redfish, spot, and whiting, a number of others being secured in small 

 quantities. The mullet is the leading species, and is sold in very large 

 quantities in a fresh and salted condition. The principal season for 

 mullet is October and November, when the fish are near the shores, 

 and are mostly taken in seines; in August and September the most of 

 the catch is in gill nets, the fish then being in deep water. The prin- 

 cipal spawning time of the mullet in this section is December, although 



