3. Although diving equipment is the most 

 efficient gear being presently used, its 

 efficiency could be increased by the use 

 of lightweight diving equipment. Present 

 diving equipment and methods requiring 

 the use of heavy diving gear have one 

 man at a time harvesting sponges to sup- 

 port the entire crew of six. Since most 

 of the diving in the upper Gulf is carried 

 on in 20 to 35 feet of water, lightweight 

 diving equipment, such as was used on the 

 present investigation, could be safely 

 employed. If 16- or 18-foot boats were 

 designed with an inboard engine which 

 could both power the boat and run a com- 

 pressor for the diver, one or two such 

 boats could be employed as auxiliary 

 craft to the present diving boats. By use 

 of lightweight equipment aboard both the 

 regular diving boat and the auxiliary 

 craft, it would be possible to double or 

 treble the present effort, with very little 

 added running expense. It would mean 

 that two or four more members of the 

 crew would of necessity be divers, in the 

 latter case the size of the crew would be 

 increased. 



In the Cape Sable area such equipment 

 would be particularly useful where the 

 diving is done in less than 25 feet. 



With synthetic foam suits, which could be 

 made for less than $20 each, diving could 

 be carried on with comfort throughout the 

 upper Gulf from March through Novem- 

 ber. 



Lightweight equipment, such as the air- 

 supplied mask, has already been used 

 with success by individual sponge fisher- 

 men working from Tarpon Springs. 



Transplant Sponges . — Previously it was 

 shown that sponges transplanted to establish 

 a sponge plantation resulted in large numbers 

 of sponges being established naturally in the 

 area. Transplanting sponges to the area just 

 north of Tampa Bay might be particularly use- 

 ful. This area from Tampa Bay to Anclote Key 

 is not producing wool sponges except in the 

 shallow water off Indian Rocks and Honeymoon 

 Island. Two thousand or more mature sponges 



transplanted to the area beginning 3 or 4 miles 

 northwest of the outermost Egmont Channel 

 Buoy and on the bars in a line west from this 

 point from 35 to 70 feet could in time populate 

 the area. Most of the bars in the area have the 

 appearance of excellent sponging bars and the 

 noncommercial sponges growing on them are 

 healthy in appearance. There are no wool 

 sponges upcurrent from this area, however, 

 to bring about repopulation of the bars. 



Transplanting of mature sponges should be 

 done at the peak of reproduction, in June and 

 July, for the transplanted sponges would con- 

 tinue to release all the larvae they contained. 

 If the sponges were transplanted at a concen- 

 tration of 25 or more for each bar, both suc- 

 cessful fertilization of the sponges and a high 

 production of larvae each year would be as- 

 sured. Once established, the sponges even in 

 deeper water of 70 to 90 feet would increase 

 the wool sponge growth in the area of Anclote 

 Key because of the shoreward movement of the 

 current in this area (fig. 11). 



Any other area which is at present producing 

 very few sponges could be brought into produc- 

 tion much more quickly by using this same 

 method of transplanting large mature sponges 

 from areas of good concentrations. One such 

 area that is in need of repopulating by this 

 means is that to the north and northwest of 

 St. Martin's Reef Light. Before 1947, this 

 area was quite productive. 



Institute further biological research on the 

 commercial sponges . — Answers to the follow- 

 ing problems would assist in showing additional 

 ways and means of obtaining the greatest pos- 

 sible harvest of commercial sponges from the 

 sponging grounds: 



1. The embryology of the commercial 

 sponges is not known in detail. Observa- 

 tion of the larval production suggests that 

 either the spermatozoa enter the sponge 

 in clumps rather than singly or that only 

 certain flagellate chambers in the egg- 

 producing sponges are capable of pro- 

 ducing eggs. 



2. Much more information is needed on wool 

 sponge larvae. It is not known with 



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