34 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN FISH CULTURE 



Further attempts were made to cultivate of the shovel-nose stur- 

 geon (Scaphirhynchus platyrhynchus) and paddlefish (Polyodon spaih- 

 irta) at the F airport (Iowa) laboratory, without results. The culture 

 of channel catfish, bufTaloiish (Ictiobus bubal us), bluegill sunfish, 

 crappie, and largemouth bass was conducted at this station on a 

 large scale. Effort was made to fully develop the fish-cultural pos- 

 sibilities of the station in the belief that this would be of benefit in 

 promoting the further development of present pond-cultural meth- 

 ods. The surplus fish were distributed to applicants. 



One small pond was again devoted to the rearing of sheepshead 

 (Aplodinotus grunniens) , this time with success. While at present 

 this fish is popular only in small sections of the country, the fact 

 that it has good food qualities and thrives well in certain waters 

 was believed to warrant a study of its pond-cultural possibilities. 



INSPECTION OF THE SPONGE FISHERIES 



The inspection of the sponge fishery centering at Tarpon Springs, 

 Fla., was conducted as usual by Walter Topliff, inspector of sponge 

 fisheries. A total of 547 vessels was inspected, 212 at sea, 256 at 

 Tarpon Springs, and 79 at Cedar Key. In addition, the inspector 

 made regular examinations of the catch while it was being sorted, 

 arranged on strings, and sold at the sponge exchange at Tarpon 

 Springs. 



The value of the sponges taken from the Gulf of Mexico along the 

 coast of Florida remains almost constant, although the number of 

 bunches fluctuates from year to year, largely due to the unstable 

 demand for the cheaper grades. However, there apparently is a slight 

 downward trend in the production and a noticeable decrease in the 

 number of sponges of the larger sizes. These are undoubtedly evi- 

 dences of the depletion of the fishing grounds, which have been inten- 

 sively exploited for many years. It is stated that no new grounds 

 have been exploited in the past 10 years although a few trips have 

 been made to the westward of Cape San Bias, but with such poor 

 results that they were not repeated. Sponge beds of considerable 

 extent exist in the deeper waters in the vicinity of Key West, which 

 are lying dormant due to the inability of the Key West spongers, 

 who use only hooks and poles, and the Greek divers of the northern 

 field to agree on working conditions. If the Key West field could be 

 made available to the clivers, it would help to relieve the too great 

 intensity of fishing that exists at present in the Tarpon Springs field. 



BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES 



During the summer of 1925 the laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., 

 was used more extensively than for many years. Its capacity, as 

 well as that of the residence building, was taxed to the utmost to 

 accommodate over 40 independent investigators and assistants. The 

 increasing demand for these accommodations makes it imperative 

 that the bureau change its policy, with regard to the privileges of this 

 laboratory. In the past very little selection was exercised because 

 quarters were available for all applicants, but under present conditions 



