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  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  viciuity 
  of 
  Cedar 
  Keys, 
  while 
  17 
  vessels 
  of 
  tlio 
  fleet 
  are 
  not 
  heard 
  from 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  pres- 
  

   ent 
  writing. 
  It 
  is 
  supposed 
  that 
  these 
  vessels 
  and 
  their 
  crews 
  have 
  been 
  lost 
  at 
  sea, 
  

   40 
  bodies 
  having 
  been 
  washed 
  ashore 
  at 
  Cedar 
  Keys. 
  Under 
  the 
  above 
  circnmstances 
  

   the 
  owners 
  of 
  vessels 
  and 
  the 
  ship-chandlers 
  are 
  feeling 
  very 
  much 
  discouraged, 
  as 
  

   from 
  their 
  past 
  experience 
  of 
  hurricanes 
  and 
  severe 
  storms 
  they 
  all 
  know 
  that 
  since 
  

   this 
  last 
  hurricane 
  the 
  undertow 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  will 
  make 
  the 
  water 
  very 
  muddy 
  at 
  the 
  

   sponge-grounds 
  of 
  Rock 
  Island 
  and 
  Anclote 
  for 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  to 
  come; 
  and 
  thus 
  it 
  

   will 
  add 
  to 
  the 
  general 
  difficulties 
  and 
  risks 
  of 
  the 
  business. 
  

  

  The 
  Rock 
  Island 
  sponge 
  fleet, 
  that 
  had 
  returned 
  to 
  Key 
  West 
  just 
  before 
  the 
  hur- 
  

   ricane, 
  has 
  again 
  made 
  a 
  broken 
  trip. 
  Only 
  half 
  a 
  dozen 
  vessels 
  brought 
  in 
  from 
  1 
  10 
  

   to 
  300 
  bunches 
  of 
  wool 
  sponges 
  each. 
  The 
  balance 
  of 
  the 
  vessels 
  have 
  not 
  succeeded 
  

   in 
  securing 
  more 
  than 
  from 
  40 
  to 
  80 
  bunches 
  of 
  sponges 
  each, 
  which 
  quantity 
  is, 
  as 
  

   you 
  understand, 
  next 
  to 
  nothing. 
  The 
  trouble 
  is 
  actually 
  that 
  the 
  sponge-grounds 
  

   on 
  the 
  west 
  coast 
  of 
  Florida 
  are 
  getting 
  bare 
  of 
  sponges 
  in 
  most 
  places, 
  as 
  the 
  fisher- 
  

   men 
  for 
  several 
  years 
  past 
  have 
  kept 
  pulling 
  up 
  the 
  small-size 
  sponges, 
  and 
  naturally 
  

   this 
  action 
  has 
  killed 
  the 
  growth 
  and 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  the 
  sponges. 
  Besides 
  this, 
  some 
  

   submarine 
  conviilsions 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  taken 
  place 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time 
  which 
  uproot 
  

   the 
  sponges. 
  Many 
  sponges 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  at 
  times 
  floating 
  loose 
  on 
  the 
  surface, 
  

   of 
  fairly 
  good 
  sizes, 
  and 
  all 
  rotten. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  sponge 
  fishermen 
  here 
  attribute 
  

   this 
  to 
  poisonous 
  waters 
  coming 
  out 
  of 
  some 
  rivers 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast. 
  I 
  think 
  the 
  

   fii-st 
  theory 
  is 
  the 
  more 
  reasonable, 
  but, 
  be 
  it 
  as 
  it 
  may, 
  sponges 
  are 
  not 
  1o 
  be 
  

   found 
  now 
  on 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  sponge 
  bars 
  on 
  which 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  vessels 
  could 
  

   secure 
  a 
  load 
  of 
  fine 
  sjiouges 
  inside 
  of 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  weeks 
  of 
  good 
  weather 
  and 
  clear 
  

   water 
  at 
  sea. 
  At 
  present, 
  although 
  the 
  vessels 
  meet 
  very 
  often 
  with 
  good 
  weather 
  

   and 
  clear 
  water, 
  they 
  can 
  not 
  find 
  sponges 
  in 
  most 
  places 
  where 
  they 
  used 
  to 
  secure 
  

   rapid 
  and 
  successful 
  crops. 
  

  

  The 
  December 
  crop 
  is 
  generally 
  the 
  most 
  successful 
  crop 
  of 
  the 
  year, 
  but 
  vessel- 
  

   owners 
  now 
  feel 
  discouraged, 
  and 
  while 
  some 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  preparing 
  their 
  vessels 
  

   to 
  send 
  them 
  out 
  to 
  the 
  Rock 
  Island 
  sponge-grounds, 
  a 
  large 
  majority 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  

   not 
  willing 
  to 
  risk 
  the 
  expenses 
  necessary 
  to 
  send 
  out 
  their 
  vessels. 
  They 
  think 
  it 
  

   is 
  a 
  hopeless 
  case 
  for 
  a 
  successful 
  crop 
  of 
  sponges, 
  and 
  they 
  say 
  that 
  they 
  will 
  save 
  

   money 
  by 
  leaving 
  their 
  vessels 
  at 
  their 
  anchorage. 
  The 
  situation, 
  therefore, 
  is 
  very 
  

   gloomy 
  for 
  a 
  good 
  supply 
  of 
  Florida 
  sponges 
  until 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  June, 
  1897, 
  at 
  which 
  

   time 
  the 
  vessels 
  may 
  succeed 
  in 
  securing 
  a 
  supply 
  of 
  Rock 
  Island 
  sponges. 
  

  

  It 
  lias 
  rarely 
  happened 
  in 
  recent 
  years 
  that 
  two 
  successful 
  seasons 
  

   have 
  come 
  together. 
  This 
  was 
  last 
  the 
  case 
  in 
  the 
  winters 
  of 
  1889-90 
  

   and 
  1890-91. 
  According 
  to 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  J. 
  Arapian, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  principal 
  Key 
  

   West 
  sponge- 
  dealers, 
  the 
  season 
  from 
  October, 
  1890, 
  to 
  March, 
  1891, 
  

   was 
  the 
  best 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  industry, 
  and 
  the 
  crop 
  was 
  the 
  largest 
  

   ever 
  obtained. 
  Up 
  to 
  1890 
  a 
  crop 
  of 
  shee^iswool 
  sponges 
  worth 
  $70,000 
  

   to 
  $100,000 
  was 
  considered 
  large. 
  In 
  December, 
  1890, 
  the 
  Key 
  West 
  

   dealers 
  bought 
  sponges 
  to 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  about 
  $160,000 
  from 
  vessels 
  

   that 
  had 
  been 
  on 
  the 
  grounds 
  in 
  October, 
  November, 
  and 
  December, 
  

   and 
  within 
  six 
  weeks 
  the 
  vessels 
  were 
  back 
  at 
  Key 
  West 
  with 
  another 
  

   trip 
  of 
  sponges, 
  which 
  sold 
  for 
  about 
  $135,000. 
  These 
  sponges 
  were 
  

   chiefly 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  grounds 
  oft' 
  Cedar 
  Keys 
  and 
  Apalachicola 
  that 
  had 
  

   been 
  resor.ted 
  to 
  the 
  previous 
  season, 
  when 
  the 
  weather 
  was 
  good 
  and 
  

   the 
  water 
  was 
  clear, 
  and 
  the 
  catch 
  was 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  larger 
  than 
  for 
  

   ten 
  years 
  or 
  more. 
  They 
  were 
  of 
  fine 
  quality 
  and 
  were 
  mostly 
  from 
  

   water 
  35 
  to 
  40 
  feet 
  deep. 
  This 
  noteworthy 
  catcli 
  evidently 
  depended 
  

   on 
  a 
  growth 
  of 
  sponges 
  in 
  one 
  season 
  and 
  strikingly 
  illustrates 
  their 
  

   rapid 
  growth 
  under 
  favorable 
  conditions. 
  

  

  