16 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



SPONGE FISHING AT BATABAN6. 



In Cuba, at Batabano, sponge fishing is 

 pursued with all the primitiveness and lei- 

 sure associated with sponge fishing since 

 classic times. 



Cuban fishermen still employ the old sky- 

 glass and rake methods, which were in 

 vogue in Florida also before the latest 

 commercializing methods revolutionized the 

 industry. The Cuban goes out in a small 

 chalupa, a cross between a river boat and 

 a canoe, carrying his professional instru- 

 ments. These latter drop a pole 20 to 50 

 feet long, fitted at the end, with a three- 

 pronged rake, and a large bucket from 

 which the bottom has been knocked out 

 and substituted by a piece of ordinary win- 

 dow glass. By means of this glass the 

 sponges can be distinctly seen on the bot- 

 tom of the sea. 



With iio small skill the rake is brought 

 into play, the sponge harpooned and the 

 catch brought to the surface. The whole 

 process of sponge fishing a la Cubano is 



tedious and trying and it requires a pa- 

 tience beyond belief. To maintain one's 

 self in a shallow skiff without upsetting 

 and at the same time to spy out sponges 

 through the glass bottom of an inverted 

 bucket, and further to acquire those 

 sponges on the end of a fiftj'-foot pole is 

 a complication of arts. 



The sponge being an animal, it is neces- 

 sary to kill it. This is done by exposing 

 i^ for several hours on the broad decks of 

 the boats. In summer they soon die, but 

 in winter it takes a long time, owing to 

 the weaker force of the sun. After death 

 they are brought ashore and put in the 

 cradles. These are inclosures made on 

 the seashore by setting stakes a little apart 

 from each other. The ebb and flow of 

 the tide wash the animal matter from the 

 sponge and the work is completed by man- 

 ual labor. They are then taken to the 

 packing-house, graded, strung, baled and 

 dispatched to their destination. — Florida 

 Times Union. 



Fishing for sponges off Batabano. Skiffs and crews from the fishing fleet at work. Searching 

 the bottom through glass-bottom buckets, by means of which the sponges can be distinctly seen. 



