APPENDIX 



Sponging Grounds (See fig. 15) 



AREA A: 



1. Carrabelle grounds - from Dog Island to 



St. Marks. Not visited by the spongers 

 since the 1947-48 season. 



2. Econfina grounds - from St. Marks to the 

 mouth of the Econfina River. Part of this 

 ground is known as the Econfina flats. 



3. Rock Island grounds - from Econfina 

 River to Keaton Beach. This ground and 

 the Econfina grounds are used primarily 

 by the hook boats at the present time. 



4. Piney Point grounds - from Keaton Beach 

 to Grass Island. Used by both the hookers 

 and divers in their assigned depths. 



AREA B: 



5. North Pepperfish grounds - from Grass 

 Island to Pepperfish Key. This includes 

 the area off the Steinhatchee River. Off- 

 shore from the mouth of the river a large 

 quartz sand patch stretches seaward and 

 is about 8 miles wide. There are only a 

 few small rocky bars on which the 

 sponges can grow. 



6. South Pepperfish grounds - from Pep- 

 perfish Key to the mouth of the Suwannee 

 River. There are few shallow-water rock 

 bars, and the water is often turbid. 



AREA C: 



7. Cedar Keys grounds - a wide quartz 

 sand strip about 8 miles wide separates 

 these grounds on the north side from the 

 ones above. The strip of sand lies off the 

 mouth of the Suwannee River. The south- 

 ern limits of the grounds is along a line 

 southwest of Cedar Keys. 



8. Cedar Keys High Rocks grounds - this is 

 the portion of the Cedar Keys grounds in 

 less than 40 feet of water. 



AREA D: 



9. Port Inglis grounds - from a line south- 

 west of Cedar Keys to the mouth of the 

 Crystal River. 



10. Big Bank Reef grounds (or St. Martins 

 Reef) from the mouth of the Crystal River 

 to St. Martins Reef Light. 



11. Anclote Key - from St. Martins Reef 

 Light to just south of Anclote Key. 



AREA E: 



12. Highlands grounds - from Anclote Key 

 south to Tampa Bay. 



AREA F: 

 (Very little sponging was ever carried on in the 

 area between Tampa Bay and Sanibel Island. The 

 primary reason for the lack of sponges is the 

 relatively steep slope of the bottom.) 



In area F the two most common sponging 

 grounds in the Ten Thousand Islands area are: 



13. 



14. 



Pavilion Key grounds - the flat rocky 

 bar and gravel area southwest of Pavilion 

 Key. 



Shark River grounds - off the mouth of 

 Shark River and Cape Sable. This area 

 was first worked in 1936. 



AREA G: 



15. 



The Keys grounds are confined to very 

 limited areas at the present time. The 

 entire area produced more than half the 

 sponges in the early 1900's when not all 

 of the west Florida coast sponging areas 

 were being exploited. Only those grounds 

 in the Keys area presently producing 

 sponges are listed below. Production is 

 low. 



Biscayne Bay groimds - between Elliott 

 Key and the mainland. 



16. Hawk Channel grounds - primarily along 

 the shallow inshore areas of Key Largo 

 and Plantation Keys. 



17. Key West grounds - the most productive 

 areas at present are close to Big Coppett 

 Key on the Florida Bay side of the Keys. 



MS #1007 



73 



