﻿FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  COASTAL 
  WATERS 
  OF 
  FLORIDA. 
  277 
  

  

  Enemies. 
  — 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  of 
  any, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  prevailiug 
  opinion 
  here, 
  among 
  sponge 
  

   fishermen, 
  that 
  during 
  somo 
  years 
  poisonous 
  water 
  comes 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  Suwanec 
  River 
  

   near 
  Cedar 
  Keys, 
  and 
  that 
  this 
  water 
  runs 
  into 
  the 
  sponge-grounds 
  near 
  by 
  and 
  then 
  

   liills 
  the 
  sponges. 
  The 
  fishermen 
  state 
  that 
  some 
  years 
  they 
  have 
  found 
  many 
  sponges 
  

   floating 
  loose 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  at 
  the 
  sponge-grounds 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Cedar 
  Keys. 
  

   This 
  opinion 
  may 
  perhaps 
  bo 
  correct, 
  but 
  personally 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  share 
  it, 
  because 
  I 
  do 
  

   not 
  think 
  that 
  oven 
  if 
  poisonous 
  water 
  was 
  aclually 
  flowing 
  out 
  of 
  (he 
  Suwanee 
  

   River 
  it 
  could 
  reach 
  the 
  sponge-grounds 
  at 
  sea, 
  nearly 
  50 
  miles 
  from 
  Ihe 
  moutli 
  of 
  

   that 
  river, 
  and 
  tliat 
  the 
  said 
  poisonous 
  water 
  could 
  then 
  sink 
  to 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  at 
  least 
  30 
  

   feet 
  to 
  reach 
  and 
  injure 
  the 
  sponge 
  bottom. 
  1 
  am 
  inclined 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  some 
  sul)- 
  

   mariue 
  convulsions, 
  perhaps, 
  are 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  these 
  uprootings 
  of 
  the 
  sjuingcs 
  which 
  

   have 
  been 
  found 
  floating 
  loose 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  at 
  times. 
  

  

  As 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  causes 
  injurious 
  to 
  the 
  growth 
  aud 
  propagation 
  of 
  the 
  sponges, 
  I 
  

   •would 
  mention 
  submarine 
  diving 
  apparatus. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  greatest 
  enemy 
  to 
  the 
  growth 
  

   of 
  the 
  sponges, 
  as 
  has 
  been 
  proved 
  l)y 
  its 
  continual 
  use 
  on 
  the 
  grounds 
  of 
  the 
  Archi- 
  

   pelago 
  Islands 
  in 
  Europe 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  coast 
  of 
  Africa, 
  in 
  both 
  of 
  which 
  places 
  the 
  

   submarine 
  diving 
  has 
  left 
  the 
  grounds 
  almost 
  entirely 
  b.are. 
  The 
  iron 
  shoes 
  of 
  the 
  

   divers 
  walking 
  on 
  the 
  sponge 
  beds 
  in 
  the 
  bottom 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  killed 
  the 
  sponges. 
  

   Up 
  to 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  sponge 
  gathering 
  in 
  the 
  Archipelago 
  Islands 
  in 
  Euroi)e 
  

   had 
  beeu 
  performed 
  by 
  the 
  means 
  of 
  iron 
  hooks 
  attached 
  to 
  long 
  poles, 
  in 
  tln^ 
  same 
  

   method 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  Florida 
  at 
  present, 
  and 
  also 
  bj- 
  means 
  of 
  naked 
  divers. 
  Some 
  

   few 
  years 
  back, 
  however, 
  someone 
  introduced 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  submarine 
  diving 
  

   apparatus 
  for 
  sponge 
  gathering 
  in 
  the 
  Archipelago 
  Islands. 
  

  

  Soon 
  after 
  the 
  extensive 
  si)onge-grounds 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  coast 
  of 
  Al'ri<"i 
  were 
  discov- 
  

   ered, 
  and 
  the 
  submarine 
  diving 
  apparatus 
  was 
  put 
  to 
  use 
  there 
  at 
  a 
  lively 
  rate 
  by 
  

   the 
  Greek 
  sponge 
  fishermen 
  of 
  the 
  Archipelago 
  Islands. 
  The 
  conse(juen<'e 
  was 
  that 
  

   inside 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  the 
  submarine 
  diving 
  fleet, 
  which 
  had 
  started 
  gatlicring 
  the 
  

   sponges 
  first 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  coast 
  of 
  Africa, 
  at 
  the 
  dejith 
  of 
  only 
  8 
  to 
  10 
  feet, 
  were 
  obliged 
  

   to 
  dive 
  at 
  greater 
  depths 
  gradually 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  sponges, 
  and 
  inside 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  

   years 
  they 
  had 
  cleaned 
  out 
  almost 
  the 
  whole 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  newly 
  discovered 
  aud 
  

   extensive 
  sponge-grounds 
  to 
  the 
  depths 
  of 
  70 
  to 
  80 
  feet. 
  I 
  understand 
  that 
  lately 
  they 
  

   arc 
  obliged 
  to 
  dive 
  to 
  the 
  depth 
  of 
  100 
  feet 
  and 
  more 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  sponges. 
  

   These 
  experiments 
  aud 
  solid 
  facts 
  are 
  suflicient 
  to 
  convince 
  one 
  that 
  submarine 
  diving 
  

   for 
  the 
  sponge 
  with 
  diving 
  apparatus 
  is 
  extremely 
  injurious 
  to 
  the 
  life 
  and 
  growtli 
  

   of 
  sponges, 
  and 
  I 
  believe 
  it 
  is 
  its 
  greatest 
  enemy. 
  Sponges 
  do 
  not 
  grow 
  any 
  nu)re 
  on 
  

   the 
  grounds 
  on 
  whicli 
  the 
  submarine 
  diver's 
  shoes 
  have 
  walked. 
  

  

  Decrease 
  or 
  increase 
  in 
  recent 
  years. 
  — 
  Since 
  1892 
  there 
  has 
  beeu 
  a 
  gradual 
  ami 
  marked 
  

   decrease 
  in 
  the 
  quantity 
  of 
  sponges 
  gathered 
  yearly 
  in 
  Florida 
  waters, 
  owing 
  ])rinci- 
  

   pally 
  to 
  the 
  almost 
  continual 
  bad 
  weather 
  at 
  sea, 
  and 
  secondly 
  to 
  the 
  cireless 
  and 
  

   continual 
  gathering 
  of 
  very 
  young 
  and 
  small-sized 
  sponges 
  by 
  the 
  li.shermen, 
  which 
  

   naturally 
  tends 
  to 
  hurt 
  the 
  growing 
  crops. 
  

  

  SpoiKje 
  cultivation. 
  — 
  Regarding 
  the 
  artificial 
  culture 
  of 
  the 
  s2)ong»'s, 
  I 
  would 
  say 
  

   that 
  experiments, 
  some 
  of 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  aud 
  very 
  costly 
  scale, 
  have 
  

   been 
  tried 
  unsuccessfully 
  by 
  sonu; 
  merchants 
  of 
  Trieste, 
  and 
  oth( 
  rs 
  in 
  Europe. 
  These 
  

   experiments 
  have 
  beeu 
  made 
  on 
  the 
  sponge-grounds 
  of 
  the 
  Archijielago 
  Islands, 
  in 
  

   the 
  Mediterranean 
  Sea, 
  and 
  in 
  every 
  instance 
  they 
  have 
  proved 
  a 
  failure. 
  The 
  meth- 
  

   ods 
  employed 
  have 
  been 
  to 
  use 
  the 
  small 
  cuttings 
  from 
  a 
  live 
  sponge 
  and 
  to 
  fasten 
  

   these 
  cuttings 
  to 
  the 
  rocks 
  by 
  the 
  means 
  of 
  a 
  wire. 
  Sul)marine 
  divers 
  have 
  been 
  

   necessary 
  to 
  perform 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  this 
  so-called 
  planting 
  of 
  the 
  sponges; 
  the 
  cutting 
  

   of 
  the 
  sponge 
  and 
  the 
  planting 
  of 
  same 
  were 
  performed 
  by 
  these 
  (livers 
  while 
  under 
  

   "water, 
  and 
  without 
  briuging 
  the 
  cuttings 
  to 
  the 
  surface. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  jiractical 
  aud 
  successful 
  method 
  I 
  can 
  think 
  of 
  regarding 
  the 
  cultivation 
  

   of 
  sponges 
  is 
  to 
  let 
  nature 
  do 
  its 
  work 
  by 
  allowing 
  it 
  suflicient 
  time. 
  This 
  can 
  be 
  

   done 
  by 
  dividing 
  tho 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  s]>ouge-grounds 
  at 
  sea 
  into 
  squares 
  each 
  of 
  100 
  

   miles, 
  more 
  or 
  less, 
  and 
  then 
  allowing 
  the 
  fishermen 
  to 
  gather 
  sponges 
  only 
  in 
  certain 
  

   squares 
  each 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  

  

  