﻿FISHERIES 
  OF 
  GULF 
  STATES. 
  

  

  443 
  

  

  ing 
  and 
  trimming 
  and 
  are 
  baled 
  for 
  shipment. 
  For 
  many 
  years 
  Key 
  

   West 
  had 
  ahnost 
  a 
  monopoly 
  of 
  this 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  industry. 
  Apalachi- 
  

   cola 
  and 
  St. 
  Marks 
  dealt 
  in 
  sponges 
  to 
  a 
  limited 
  extent, 
  but 
  the 
  first 
  

   serious 
  competitor 
  with 
  Key 
  West 
  was 
  Tarpon 
  Springs, 
  where 
  buying 
  

   began 
  in 
  1891. 
  The 
  sponge 
  business 
  rapidly 
  expanded 
  here 
  until 
  in 
  

   1901 
  it 
  exceeded 
  that 
  of 
  Key 
  West 
  by 
  about 
  $70,000, 
  while 
  in 
  1902 
  the 
  

   excess 
  was 
  much 
  greater. 
  The 
  "Bay" 
  spongers 
  find 
  it 
  much 
  more 
  

   convenient 
  to 
  sell 
  at 
  Tarpon 
  Springs 
  than 
  at 
  Key 
  \'\'^est, 
  while 
  the 
  

   latter 
  point 
  is 
  naturally 
  the 
  market 
  for 
  the 
  "Key" 
  spongers. 
  

  

  The 
  sturgeon 
  fishery. 
  — 
  At 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  general 
  canvass 
  of 
  the 
  

   fisheries 
  of 
  the 
  gulf 
  coast 
  (1897), 
  sturgeon 
  were 
  caught 
  in 
  but 
  one 
  

   county 
  — 
  Levj' 
  — 
  and 
  the 
  catch 
  in 
  that 
  year 
  amounted 
  to 
  9,254 
  pounds, 
  

   valued 
  at 
  $331. 
  These 
  were 
  all 
  taken 
  on 
  the 
  Suwanee 
  River. 
  No 
  

   caviar 
  was 
  put 
  up. 
  When 
  this 
  fishery 
  was 
  canvassed 
  for 
  the 
  year 
  

   1900 
  a 
  considerable 
  increase 
  in 
  its 
  importance 
  was 
  noted. 
  Fishing 
  

   was 
  prosecuted 
  in 
  the 
  Suwanee, 
  the 
  Ocklocknee, 
  and 
  the 
  Apalachicola 
  

   rivers, 
  the 
  total 
  yield 
  being 
  165,500 
  pounds 
  round 
  weight, 
  which 
  sold 
  

   for 
  $9,786, 
  while 
  4,270 
  pounds 
  of 
  caviar 
  were 
  prepared 
  and 
  sold 
  for 
  

   13,115. 
  During 
  1902 
  fishing 
  was 
  prosecuted 
  in 
  the 
  Suwanee, 
  the 
  

   Ocklocknee, 
  the 
  Apalachicola, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Choctawatchee 
  Bay 
  and 
  

   River, 
  in 
  Escambia 
  Bay 
  and 
  River, 
  and 
  in 
  Blackwater 
  River. 
  The 
  

   new 
  regions 
  were 
  first 
  worked 
  in 
  1901, 
  and 
  are 
  at 
  present 
  the 
  most 
  

   prolific. 
  The 
  product 
  in 
  1902 
  amounted 
  to 
  343,291 
  pounds 
  of 
  sturgeon, 
  

   valued 
  at 
  $8,532, 
  and 
  5,691 
  pounds 
  of 
  caviar, 
  valued 
  at 
  $3,026. 
  

  

  The 
  turtle 
  fishery. 
  — 
  This 
  fishery 
  is 
  gradually 
  becoming 
  concentrated 
  

   at 
  Key 
  West, 
  in 
  Monroe 
  Count3\ 
  Quite 
  a 
  fleet 
  of 
  vessels 
  engage 
  in 
  it, 
  

   and 
  fish 
  not 
  only 
  on 
  the 
  Florida 
  coast 
  but 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  Honduras, 
  

   Yucatan, 
  and 
  Mexican 
  coasts. 
  Three 
  species, 
  the 
  green, 
  the 
  logger- 
  

   head, 
  and 
  the 
  hawksbill 
  are 
  taken. 
  The 
  green 
  turtle 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  

   sought 
  after 
  for 
  food; 
  the 
  hawksbill 
  furnishes 
  the 
  tortoise 
  shell 
  of 
  

   commerce. 
  The 
  following 
  table 
  shows 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  this 
  fishery 
  for 
  a 
  

   series 
  of 
  years: 
  

  

  