﻿FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  COASTAL 
  WATERS 
  OF 
  FLORIDA. 
  265 
  

  

  THE 
  COAST 
  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  FLORIDA. 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  IMPORTANCE 
  AND 
  EXTENT. 
  

  

  Fisliiug 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  promineut 
  industries 
  of 
  Florida, 
  and 
  iu 
  

   some 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  is 
  of 
  greater 
  importance 
  than 
  any 
  other 
  branch 
  

   of 
  business. 
  In 
  comparison 
  with 
  other 
  States 
  the 
  rank 
  of 
  Florida 
  is 
  

   tenth. 
  Massachusetts, 
  Maryland, 
  ISTew 
  York, 
  Virginia, 
  New 
  Jersey, 
  

   California, 
  Alaska, 
  Maine, 
  and 
  Connecticut 
  are 
  the 
  only 
  States 
  which 
  

   surpass 
  Florida 
  in 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  their 
  fishery 
  products, 
  and 
  the 
  margin 
  

   between 
  some 
  of 
  these, 
  whose 
  tisheries 
  have 
  about 
  attained 
  the 
  height 
  

   of 
  their 
  development, 
  is 
  so 
  small 
  that 
  they 
  will 
  doubtless 
  be 
  outranked 
  

   by 
  Florida 
  within 
  a 
  comparatively 
  few 
  years. 
  

  

  No 
  State 
  has 
  a 
  greater 
  variety 
  of 
  valuable 
  food-fishes 
  and 
  other 
  water 
  

   animals 
  than 
  Florida, 
  and 
  in 
  few, 
  if 
  any. 
  States 
  do 
  they 
  exist 
  in 
  such 
  

   abundance 
  and 
  under 
  such 
  favorable 
  conditions 
  for 
  cjipture. 
  Besides 
  

   an 
  immense 
  assortment 
  of 
  food-fishes, 
  there 
  are 
  valuable 
  reptilian, 
  

   crustacean, 
  molluscau, 
  and 
  other 
  resources. 
  The 
  fisheries 
  are, 
  with 
  few 
  

   exceptions, 
  only 
  imperfectly 
  developed 
  along 
  most 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  coast. 
  

   With 
  a 
  coast 
  line 
  exceeding 
  3,500 
  miles 
  iu 
  length 
  (following 
  indentations 
  

   and 
  including 
  islands), 
  the 
  fishing 
  is 
  largely 
  concentrated 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  places, 
  

   leaving 
  unoccupied 
  long 
  stretches 
  of 
  coast 
  with 
  ample 
  supplies 
  of 
  fish, 
  

   etc., 
  awaiting 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  increase 
  in 
  population 
  and 
  extension 
  of 
  

   transi)ortation 
  facilities 
  will 
  make 
  new 
  demands 
  on 
  the 
  water 
  resources. 
  

  

  Florida 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  State 
  having 
  a 
  sponge 
  fishery, 
  which 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   most 
  i^rominent 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  industry. 
  Other 
  fisheries 
  in 
  

   which 
  Florida 
  leads 
  are 
  the 
  mullet 
  fishery, 
  the 
  red-snapper 
  fishery, 
  the 
  

   pompano 
  fishery, 
  the 
  kingfish 
  fishery, 
  and 
  the 
  green 
  -turtle 
  fishery. 
  

   Besides 
  these, 
  there 
  are 
  important 
  fisheries 
  for 
  squeteagne, 
  grunts, 
  

   minor 
  snappers, 
  sheepshead, 
  groupers, 
  Spanish 
  mackerel, 
  red 
  drum, 
  

   and 
  oysters. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  coast 
  fishing 
  centers 
  of 
  Florida 
  are 
  Key 
  West, 
  Tampa, 
  

   St. 
  Petersburg, 
  Cedar 
  Keys, 
  Apalachicola, 
  Pensacola, 
  Jacksonville, 
  

   Fernandina, 
  the 
  Indian 
  River 
  region, 
  and 
  Lake 
  Worth. 
  By 
  far 
  the 
  

   most 
  extensive 
  fisheries 
  are 
  prosecuted 
  from 
  Key 
  West 
  and 
  Pensacola. 
  

   The 
  west 
  coast 
  maintains 
  much 
  more 
  prominent 
  fisheries 
  than 
  the 
  east 
  

   coast, 
  and 
  takes 
  precedence 
  in 
  the 
  yield 
  of 
  every 
  important 
  product. 
  

  

  The 
  approximate 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  commercial 
  fisheries 
  of 
  the 
  coastal 
  

   waters 
  of 
  Florida 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  is 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  Persons 
  employed 
  <>, 
  100 
  

  

  Capital 
  invested 
  $1, 
  300, 
  000 
  

  

  Annual 
  value 
  of 
  catch 
  $1, 
  200, 
  000 
  

  

  