172 



REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



prohibit the sale of such sponges or the having' of them in possession. 

 The law was amended in 1901 to cover these points, and will doubtless 

 prove useful in protecting the small sponges from the depredations of 

 the spongers, if properly enforced. 



DISASTERS TO THE FLEET. 



The spongers have not been exempt from the many pei"ils of the 

 deep, as is well shown by the following brief record of the principal 

 disasters to the fleet since 1880: 



SPONGE BUYING. 



The bu3dng of sponges gathered l)y the Florida fishermen has 

 developed into a business of considerable magnitude and one quite 

 distinct from that of the gatliering of sponges. 



When the sponges are landed by the flshermen they have merel}^ been 

 roughly cleaned of the mud and dirt adhering to them, and it is neces- 

 sary, before they can be placed on the market, to thoroughly clean 

 them of the remaining dirt, see that no foreign substances are inside 

 the sponge, and trim otf the rough edges to give a symmetrical 

 appefirance. This work is done by the buyers, who have large ware- 

 houses at convenient places on the coast. 



For many years Key West had almost a monopoly of this lousiness, 

 but in 1891 serious competition began at Tarpon Springs. Owing to 

 the favorable situation of this latter place tlie lousiness here rapidly 

 expanded until in 1900 it amounted to almost as much as at Kc}' West. 

 Tlie Spanish-American war was a great help to Tarpon Springs, as the 

 Key West vessel captains avoided going to Key West with their car- 

 goes for fear of being captured by Spanish war vessels, and so were 

 constrained to sell at Tarpon Springs. During 1899 and 1900 a few 

 sponges were sold at Lemon City, on the east coast. Some of the 

 "key" boats from the upper part of Biscay ne Bay found it more con- 

 venient to sell to the one buyer llicri^ llian to niak(> the long trip to 

 Key West. The business did not tli:i\('. lio\\e\'cr, as the spongers do 



