The present most important sponging area ex- 

 tends from Anclote Key to St. Marks, a dis- 

 tance of about 200 miles. From Piney Point 

 north to St. Marks the present Florida law 

 states that the diving boats cannot work within 

 10 miles of land and are limited to working in 

 water depths of more than 3-1/2 fathoms 

 between Tampa Bay and Piney Point. 



The entire sponging area along the Florida 

 coast has been divided by the spongers into 

 smaller regions, the sponging grounds (fig. 

 15). The primary reason for this division is 

 the practical necessity of being able to desig- 

 nate the particular area in which a boat is to 

 work or has worked. In part also this division 

 serves to delineate individual sponging grounds 

 that differ ecologically. Different grounds 

 possess varying types of bottom and produce 

 distinct ecological types of sponges. Sponge 

 fishermen claim that the appearance and feel 

 of a sponge indicates to them what part of the 

 sponging area it was taken, within a 10-mile 

 section of the coast. Differences in appear- 

 ance of sponges from various localities are 

 certainly apparent, even to the inexpert eye. 

 At times the division of the area into grounds 

 also carries with it a connotation of texture 

 and quality; for example, the term "Rock 

 Island" (wool) sponge is equivalent to a grade 

 of sponge and is used as a marketing term. 



For ease in analysis of various factors on the 

 sponge beds as a whole the grounds have been 

 grouped here as areas (fig. 15, detailed 

 description in appendix). 



Only limited portions of all the total spong- 

 ing area, except area F, have concentrations of 

 sponges comparable to those found before the 

 first disease period, 1938 (table 4). The im- 

 portance of each of the areas to the industry 

 cannot, however, be judged alone by the con- 

 centration of the sponges. Quality of the 

 sponges is also important, for it is often 

 better to take fewer sponges of higher quality 

 than more sponges of lower quality. Generally 

 speaking the quality of the sponges is better 

 in areas A, B, and C. South of these areas, 

 the sponges are progressively more open- 

 textured and weaker. This is true of both the 

 wool and the grass sponges. In area F off 

 Shark River, for example, the sponges have a 



much lighter texture and less desirable shape 

 than those from area A (Rock Island). A load 

 of sponges from area F may have only two- 

 thirds the value of the same quantity from 

 area A. Grass sponges from the Florida Keys 

 generally are of poor quality and may only 

 command a third of the price of those taken 

 at Anclote Key. 



On the other hand, the Florida Keys glove 

 sponge is of much better quality than those 

 found off Anclote Key. The range of this sponge 

 is from the Florida Keys area to just south of 

 Cedar Keys. At the present time the concen- 

 tration of the glove sponge is much higher in 

 the Keys area than at its more northerly 

 limits. 



Depth Zones 



The sponging areas may be divided into 

 three distinct depth zones: 



Shallow 40 feet and less 



Middle 41 feet to 80 feet 



Deep 81 feet to 120 feet 



The shallow zone (fig. 15) is the only area 

 now worked extensively by the sponge fisher- 

 men. During 1956 some good-sized sponges 

 were taken in water as deep as 55 feet, and as 

 indicated by the deep-water survey of the pres- 

 ent investigation, some quantities of wool 

 sponges occur in limitedareasin water as deep 

 as 80 feet. 



The Florida State law limiting the sponging 

 depths of the diving boats was drawn up by the 

 Florida State Conservation Department as the 

 result of an agreement between the hook boat 

 spongers and the diving boat crews. 



The hook boats usually work in water of 20 

 feet or less, and the diving boats, because of 

 the age and physical condition of the divers, 

 rarely work in more than 40 feet. Most of the 

 diving is done in the 20- to 30-foot zone. 



Most of the yellow, grass, and glove sponges 

 are found in the shallow water. The shape of 

 the wool sponges in this zone is somewhat 

 more flattened than those from deeper water, 

 the ratio of the diameter to height varying 

 from 2 : 1 to 4 : 3. Those wool sponges growing 



45 



