﻿FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  COASTAL 
  WATERS 
  OF 
  FLORIDA. 
  319 
  

  

  vessel's 
  share, 
  aud 
  the 
  bookers 
  are 
  given 
  a 
  (juarter 
  share 
  by 
  the 
  owner 
  

   in 
  addition 
  to 
  tbeir 
  regular 
  shares. 
  The 
  cost 
  of 
  tlie 
  ontflt 
  per 
  trip 
  is 
  

   about 
  $100, 
  and 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  five 
  trips 
  arc 
  made 
  each 
  season. 
  

  

  In 
  1S95 
  and 
  189G 
  there 
  were 
  three 
  sponge 
  dealers 
  or 
  buyers 
  at 
  Tar- 
  

   pon 
  Springs. 
  These 
  liad 
  their 
  sponge-houses 
  near 
  the 
  moutli 
  of 
  Audote 
  

   River, 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  miles 
  below 
  Tarpon 
  Springs. 
  The 
  sjjonges 
  are 
  sold 
  

   at 
  auction, 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  at 
  Key 
  West, 
  and 
  the 
  prices 
  are 
  ])ractically 
  the 
  

   same 
  as 
  at 
  that 
  place. 
  The 
  purchases 
  of 
  these 
  dealers 
  in 
  1895 
  amounted 
  

   to 
  about 
  $60,000, 
  and 
  consisted 
  of 
  sponges 
  caught 
  not 
  only 
  by 
  local 
  

   vessels 
  but 
  by 
  those 
  from 
  Key 
  West, 
  Apalachicola, 
  and 
  elsewhere. 
  

  

  statistical 
  summary. 
  — 
  In 
  1895 
  the 
  fishing 
  industry 
  of 
  this 
  se<'tion 
  gave 
  

   employment 
  to 
  1,251 
  persons. 
  The 
  vessels 
  engaged 
  in 
  taking 
  or 
  trans- 
  

   porting 
  fishery 
  products 
  numbered 
  37, 
  and 
  bad 
  an 
  aggregate 
  tonnage 
  of 
  

   402.35; 
  these 
  and 
  74G 
  boats 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  shore 
  fisheries 
  were 
  valued 
  at 
  

   $113,071. 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  apparatus 
  of 
  capture 
  was 
  $24,209, 
  and 
  that 
  

   of 
  the 
  shore 
  and 
  accessory 
  property 
  and 
  cash 
  capital 
  was 
  $107,095. 
  

   The 
  total 
  investment 
  in 
  the 
  industry 
  was 
  thus 
  $245,075. 
  The 
  catch, 
  

   amounting 
  in 
  value 
  to 
  $259,508, 
  was 
  divided 
  as 
  follows 
  among 
  the 
  dif- 
  

   ferent 
  classes 
  of 
  products: 
  

  

  Fish 
  $181,061 
  

  

  Oysters 
  21,334 
  

  

  AHigatois 
  and 
  otters 
  2.0, 
  675 
  

  

  Sponges 
  30, 
  875 
  

  

  Turtles 
  563 
  

  

  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  CEDAR 
  KEYS. 
  

  

  Geographical 
  featnres 
  and 
  prominent 
  fisheries 
  of 
  Cedar 
  Keys. 
  — 
  At 
  one 
  

   time 
  Cedar 
  Keys 
  seemed 
  destined 
  to 
  occupy 
  the 
  first 
  i)Iace 
  iis 
  a 
  fishing 
  

   center 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast 
  of 
  the 
  Florida 
  peninsula, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  ter- 
  

   minus 
  of 
  the 
  only 
  railway 
  reaching 
  the 
  Gulf 
  except 
  one 
  running 
  to 
  

   Pensacola. 
  This 
  advantage 
  was 
  lost, 
  however, 
  by 
  the 
  building 
  of 
  railway 
  

   lines 
  to 
  Homosassa, 
  St. 
  Petersburg, 
  Tampa, 
  and 
  Punta 
  (lorda, 
  and 
  tlie 
  

   fisheries, 
  while 
  important, 
  are 
  much 
  less 
  valuable 
  than 
  at 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   other 
  points. 
  Cedar 
  Keys 
  is 
  located 
  several 
  miles 
  from 
  the 
  mainland, 
  

   on 
  a 
  key 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  name. 
  The 
  railroad 
  is 
  built 
  partly 
  on 
  piles 
  and 
  

   partly 
  on 
  small 
  keys. 
  Owing 
  to 
  this 
  necessary 
  method 
  of 
  construction, 
  

   comnnmication 
  is 
  liable 
  to 
  interruption 
  by 
  storms 
  washing 
  away 
  i)art 
  

   of 
  the 
  tracks. 
  Several 
  such 
  storms 
  have 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  i)ast 
  few 
  

   years; 
  the 
  worst 
  of 
  these 
  was 
  in 
  September, 
  189(;, 
  when 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  

   of 
  damage 
  was 
  done 
  to 
  property 
  in 
  the 
  town, 
  especially 
  to 
  fish-houses 
  

   on 
  the 
  wharf, 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  railroad 
  was 
  washed 
  away, 
  the 
  place 
  

   being 
  without 
  rail 
  communication 
  for 
  nearly 
  two 
  months. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  industry 
  of 
  Cedar 
  Keys 
  are 
  the 
  

   nudlet, 
  oyster, 
  and 
  terrapin 
  fishing 
  and 
  the 
  wholesale 
  fish 
  and 
  oyster 
  

   trades. 
  The 
  place 
  is 
  also 
  the 
  shipping-point 
  for 
  mullet 
  and 
  other 
  fish 
  

   taken 
  at 
  camps 
  along 
  the 
  coast 
  and 
  brought 
  in 
  by 
  transporting 
  vessels. 
  

   The 
  wholesale 
  trade 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  seven 
  firms; 
  two 
  firms 
  handle 
  

   fish, 
  oysters, 
  and 
  turtles, 
  and 
  five 
  handle 
  oysters 
  exclusively. 
  

  

  