THE COMMERCIAL SPONGES AND THE SPONGE FISHERIES. 505 
MEASURES PROPOSED. 
The possible measures for the regulation and conservation of the sponge 
fisheries resolve themselves into (1) the prohibition of taking sponges below a 
given minimum size, (2) the establishment of close seasons, (3) the restriction of 
the character, amount, and location of the apparatus employed, and (4) sponge 
culture. As has been previously indicated, the taking of young sponges is one 
of the great abuses of all sponge fisheries, and that one most fatal to the perpetu- 
ation of the beds; and young sponges are taken by all present methods of fishing, 
though to varying degrees. A few of them are thrown away by the fishermen, 
but the vast majority are placed on the market. I have seen 30,000 small 
sheepswool sponges in the house of one dealer at Tarpon Springs, who paid but 
$500 or $600 for the lot, an average of less than 2 cents apiece. This was prob- 
ably the largest quantity bought by any one man at that place, but the other 
dealers also had-large numbers, and it is notorious that the divers ship many 
away for sale in other places. It is impossible to state the total number of young 
Florida sponges annually placed on the market, but there must be at least 
between 150,000 to 200,000 pieces. Accepting the lower estimate, these are 
worth to the spongers not over $3,000, but if left to grow for another year they 
would more than double in weight and increase about ten times in value at the 
present prices. Not only is there this direct monetary loss to the fishery, but 
there is an indirect loss to the beds resulting from the unprofitable removal 
of this large number of breeding individuals capable of furnishing fry for the 
regeneration of the sponging grounds. 
The present minimum limit placed on sponges by both the federal and state 
statutes applicable to Florida waters is 4 inches in the longest diameter when 
wet, but most persons do not realize the small size of such sponges. The dealer 
mentioned above was of the belief that all of his 30,000 small sponges were under 
the legal limit, but a careful measurement showed that probably 50 per cent 
of them could be construed as complying with the conditions of law, the largest 
diameter reaching 4 inches, though the other dimensions were usually consider- 
ably less. The average weight of such sponges when pure and perfectly dry is 
less than one-half ounce and they are of little value in the markets. To sell 
most of them at all it is necessary to bleach them and place the price so low 
as to leave little profit. If the law is to be made really effective for the protec- 
tion of the beds and to prevent the taking of economically unremunerative sizes 
the minimum limit must be raised to 5 inches and the law must be rigorously 
enforced against spongers, buyers, dealers, and others who are concerned in its 
infraction. It is believed that most of the buyers and vessel owners at least 
would welcome more rigorous measures, which would work no hardship to any- 
