FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1930 399 



Industries related to the fisheries of Florida, 1929 — Continued 

 MANUFACTURING 



Items 



Establishments _. 



Persons engaged: 



Proprietors 



Salaried employees 



Wage earners 



Paid to salaried employees 



Paid to wage earners . . 



Total salaries and wages 



Num- 

 ber 



21 



25 



441 



$75, 920 

 251,774 



327, 694 



Products 1 



Salted: 



Mullet pounds. 



Mullet roe do... 



O ther fish do-.. 



Canned: 



Shrimp, dry, in tins-Standard cases 2. 



Shrimp, wet, in tins do... 



Shrimp, wet, in glass do-_- 



Oysters do... 



Menhaden products: 



Dry scrap tons. 



Acid scrap do... 



Fish meal do... 



Oil gallons . 



Miscellaneous products ' 



Total. 



Quan- 

 tity 



425, 400 

 35, 055 

 42,500 



3,504 

 37, 997 

 22, 389 



9,822 



5,513 



6,926 



5,905 



487, 662 



$28, 632 

 9,461 

 1,340 



19, 666 

 219, 805 

 245, 349 



48, 912 



271, 705 

 176, 662 

 312, 355 

 210, 868 

 321, 740 



1,866,495 



FISHERMEN'S PREPARED PRODUCTS 



' Includes the production of 19 firms whose activities were principally in the wholesale trade. 



2 A standard ease contains forty-eight 5-ounce cans of oysters, forty-eight 5-ounce cans in the dry pack, 

 or forty-eight 5%-ounce cans in the wet pack of shrimp. 



3 Includes canned clam and turtle products, shark products, oyster-shell products, shrimp meal, miscella- 

 neous scrap and oil, and shell lamps. 



SPONGE FISHERY 



In the waters along the Gulf coast of Florida there is located the 

 only commercial sponge fishery in the United States. During 1929 

 this fishery employed 855 fishermen, which is 5 per cent more than 

 the number employed during 1928. Their catch amounted to 

 528,721 pounds, valued at $879,646. This represents a decrease of 

 5 per cent in the catch, but an increase of 3 per cent in the value of 

 the catch as compared with the catch and its value for the previous 

 year. The greater part of the catch consisted of sheepswool sponges, 

 although there were considerable quantities of yellow and grass 

 sponges and a small production of wire sponges. 



Operating units. — In making the catch, the fishermen employed 

 5 motor vessels, 2 sailing vessels, 412 motor and other small fishing 

 boats, 278 sponge hooks, and 51 diving outfits. The vessels had a 

 combined capacity of 85 net tons. 



Marketing the sponges. — The greater portion of the catch landed at 

 Tarpon Springs is marketed through the Sponge Exchange located 

 there. During 1929 sponges, amounting to 378,514 pounds, valued 

 at $706,645, were handled on the exchange. This represents 72 per 

 cent of the quantity of the entire Florida catch and 80 per cent of the 

 value. Transactions are made on the exchange at auction, and 

 bidders represent merchants in various sections of this and foreign 

 countries. 



