USA > Florida > Florida, 1513-1913, past and future; four hundred years of wars and peace and industrial development > Part 19
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on the west coast that are not known on the east coast, that the two sides of the state may be regarded as having separate fauna.
FRESH WATER SPECIES
Of the 576 species known in Florida waters, sixty-one are fresh- water fish, twenty may be regarded as belonging in brackish water, and the remaining 495 are distinctively salt-water varieties. Of the fresh-water species, the only ones of commercial importance are the catfish, pike, sunfish and the large-mouthed black bass. The most southerly locality of Florida from which fresh-water fish have been taken is Miami, eight specimens having been caught there. The United States Fish Commissioner believes that the list will be largely increased when the waters of the state shall be thoroughly explored, and he declares that most important results are expected to be secured in the Everglades, in the interior lakes south of Lake George, and in the streams that cross the northern boundary of the state.
FISH IN BRACKISH WATERS
Among the twenty-one species of fish that inhabit the brackish waters are two varieties of shad. Along the east coast the common shad is frequent and valuable. It occurs regularly and in consider- able numbers in the St. Johns and the St. Marys rivers and but rarely in the Indian river. It is not known positively in any other waters of the state. The Alabama shad (Alosa Alabamae) is found at Pensacola and probably in other waters fed by the west coast drainage district. Several other varieties of salt-water and fresh- water fish are also found sometimes in brackish waters, and but six- teen species are found in such water and not elsewhere.
SALT-WATER FISH
But the great majority of Florida fish have their habitat in salt water, there being not less than 495 species, including many families and genera. Approximately one hundred and seventy-five species are found along the cast coast, two hundred and ninety among the Florida Keys, and about three hundred on the Gulf coast. Several important species are found in the three localities,
TARPON FISHING IN A FLOWER GARDEN, CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER
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KEY WEST FISHERIES
Key West is the most important and interesting of all localities in Florida in its fish varieties, no less than two hundred and fifty species being known there, of which at least one hundred are food fish. The richness of Key West waters in edible fish may be appre- ciated when their number is compared with other important fishing regions of the United States, and this is shown by the following fig- ures: The south Atlantic states have fifty-five varieties; the mid- dle Atlantic states, fifty; the New England states, forty-eight; the Pacific states, forty; the Great Lakes, sixteen; and the Gulf states (Florida excepted), forty-two. Among the more important vari- eties of fish handled at Key West are six species of grunts, five of porgies, four of snappers, the hog-fish, kingfish, the Spanish mack- erel and three species of mullet, besides sixty or more varieties which are less important.
The methods of handling fish at Key West are unique and con- serve the fisheries of that region to the largest possible extent. Practically all fish are caught with hook and line and every fishing boat has a well in which the fish are placed. All salable fish are brought to market in these wells and kept alive until sold. The pur- chaser selects from these the fish he wants which are then killed and dressed by the fisherman. This method insures perfectly fresh fish and few are lost or wasted.
It also affords the scientist the most satisfactory conditions for studying live fish that are to be found anywhere in the United States, for numerous species of live specimens are always to be found in the wells of these boats. By accompanying the fisherman to the bars and coral reefs it is possible through a water glass to study the many varieties in the clear sea beneath the boat.
With all its wealth of food fish, the waters of Key West region contain no shad, no black bass nor any of the fresh-water varieties. Excepting as stragglers, several other important species of food fish are missing in these waters.
FOOD FISH OF FLORIDA
The total number of food fish varieties now known to occur in Florida waters is about one hundred and forty, divided among thirty- six families, and according to the following classification: Sturgeon, one; catfish, four; suckers, two; minnows, one; eels, one; tarpon, two;
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lady fish, one; herring, eight; pike, two; needlefish, two; balaos, four; mullet, four; barracuda, two; thread-fin, one; squirrel-fish, one; mack- erel, four; cutlas-fish, one; carangidae, fourteen; bluefish, one; sun- fish and black bass, ten; robalos, one; sea bass, ten; triple-tail, one; snappers, eight; grunts, twelve; porgies, twelve; majarras, four; rud- der-fish, one; croakers, eleven; wrasse fish, one; parrot fish, two; angel fish, one; butterfly fish, three; tangs, three; rock fish, one; and flounders, four. This large number represents about one-twentieth of the entire fish fauna of 'America north of the equator.
FLORIDA'S GAME FISH
The game fish of Florida are known everywhere. The ambi- tion of every true sportsman, whether he be Florida born or from another state, is the royal fight with the tarpon, the Silver King of all fish. He who loves the sport and who has never taken a tarpon, has in reserve the greatest of all pleasures. Frequently an hour or even more elapses from the time the great fish strikes the three-pound mullet bait on the big hook, before he is landed. When he finds him- self entangled, he comes to the surface with a rush and by a magnifi- cent leap throws himself clear of the water and high into the air, his scales glistening in the light like polished silver. Of every trick and twist and turn known to the finny tribe, he is a master. He makes every effort to free himself from the wire leader. The fisherman at the other end of the line must keep it taut. He must be watchful, for a second of forgetfulness may lose the splendid game. With a six- foot, hundred-pound tarpon hooked he has his mind fully occupied, his strength taxed to its limit. And when exhausted by the struggle he gazes at last at the great fish conquered, he feels an increased respect for the splendid instinct that has been matched against his human wit. The game is the most exciting that comes to the fisher- man, and the victor has reason to boast of his prowess.
But while the tarpon is the king of game fish in Florida waters, it is by no means the only fighter. Some of the largest black bass known have been caught in these localities. Sunfish here are the largest of their kind. The lady fish and the bone fish are consid- ered by some to equal their relative, the tarpon, in game qualities. Trolling for kingfish, jack, crevalle, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and the spotted sea trout in the Indian river, Lake Worth, at Key West or Biscayne Bay, furnishes sport of the most exciting kind. Still fishing for sheepshead and mangrove snappers at the Indian River
THE FLORIDA RED SNAPPER
RED-FISH OR BASS OF THE SOUTH
SHAD
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inlets, for chubs, porkfish, yellow tails, snappers or grunt at Key West, or for red snappers on the snapper banks, offers variety suffi- cient to please any angler, no matter what may be his mood.
OTHER WATER RESIDENTS
Besides these, there is a long list of shell-fish valuable for food, including the terrapin and other turtles, several varieties of the lob- ster family, the shrimp, a considerable variety of eels, crabs and shell- fish that are found in no other waters in so large numbers or so many kinds.
The crocodile, closely related to his African cousin, is found in several localities. The alligator is one of the well known natives of Florida whose presence in many waters has become rare because of the value of his hide and the insatiable curiosity of tourists. The nianatee, or sea cow, is a massive mammal which is found only in Florida streams and there but rarely. It is said that it inhabits South American rivers, but some authorities question that the two belong to the same species, so great arc their differences. It is seen but seldom in Florida, and although it formerly was found in large numbers along the lower Indian river, it seems to have retreated before ad- vancing civilization into the fastnesses of the upper St. Lucie river or into The Everglades. The laws of Florida forbid the killing or capture of the nianatee under heavy penalty, and special permission must be obtained from state authorities to have one in possession even for exhibition purposes. This is granted only when it is made to appear that such capture will serve the purposes of scientific research. It is probable that its final extinction will be a matter of but few years, unless special protection shall be given to the comparatively few specimens by private patronage.
Of the food fish of Florida the shad and mullet are probably the most valuable commercially and they are in great demand. The pompano of the Indian river, the Spanish mackerel and a few others are much sought for their delicious qualities, and they form a large part of the winter and spring commerce of the lower east coast. They are taken with hook and line and as they are decidedly game, they afford real sport to the fisherman, professional and amateur, and they are much sought after by sport-loving visitors to the state. The red snapper, the channel bass and a score of other varieties are interest- ing to the genuine sportsman.
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COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FLORIDA'S FISHERIES
The fisheries of Florida are potentially the source of an annual income sufficient to pay at least one-half of the expenses of the state government. Actually not one cent is paid into the state treasury from this source, not even enough to pay for the proper policing of these prolific waters. Some authorities have declared that a proper supervision of the oyster beds alone would produce an income exceed- ing eight hundred thousand dollars a year, which is an approximate estimate of what their government costs the people of Florida each year. These authorities insist that this sum might be realized with- out in any way infringing upon the rights of individuals. The indif- ference is apparently the cause of the neglect to enforce existing laws, for the statute books contain provisions for the conservation and protection of food and game fish, but they contain no measures by which this revenue may be collected, excepting by the levying of fines for violations of statutes through the machinery of county organizations.
FLORIDA'S WATER AREA i
The shore line of Florida, from the Perdido river to the St. Marys, extends something more than eleven hundred miles, and this does not include the meanderings of bays and inlets, which increase the length probably to more than fifteen hundred miles. The area of salt-water bays and inlets may be safely estimated at not less than two hundred and sixty-five thousand acres, not including the larger bays at Pensacola, Cedar Keys, Tampa, Charlotte Harbor on the Gulf side, and not including the entire east coast of the state. It is quite safe to estimate at a full half-million acres the area under the jurisdiction of Florida, which is suitable for the cultivation of the oyster alone. When the eleven hundred miles of sea coast is multi- plied by the three leagues of width which, by the State Constitution, are made a part of Florida, some idea may be had of the enormous superficial surface available for shallow and deep-water fishing that is controlled by state authority.
The area of Florida's fresh-water lakes and streams is hardly less than two and a half million acres, and these teem with fish of many varieties, where they have not been depleted by the demands of com- merce for these products.
THE STRIPED MULLET
POMPANO
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LEGISLATIVE PROTECTION
What has Florida done to protect her fisheries?
The State Legislature of 1889 authorized the appointment by the Governor of a Commission of Fisheries, to consist of three mem- bers. It defined their duties to have supervision over the fish and oyster interests of the state and to enforce the laws for their pres- ervation and protection, and it limited their compensation to a sum not to exceed one hundred and fifty dollars a year for each of the three commissioners, making no allowance for necessary expenses.
The Legislature of 1905 repealed this provision, but this ad- verse action was without the approval of Governor Broward, then the chief executive. The same Legislature provided for the appoint- nient by the Governor of a fish and game warden in each county upon the petition of seventy-five freeholders in the county, and such offieer was given the right to name deputies to assist him. The re- wards attached to the office were one-half of the fines levied and collected for the infractions of the game laws.
The laws relating to the fisheries of the state were supposed to be mainly for the protection of food fish, particularly the shad, and they included special enaetments covering certain specified waters, lakes and streams. They undertook to regulate the use of seines and prohibited their employment for taking several varieties of fish. They forbade the taking of food fish by persons not citizens of the United States for the purpose of exporting them outside the state, excepting under the protection of special license. Persons not resi- dents of Florida were required to seeure lieenses to eateh fish in Flor- ida waters, excepting for their own use, and the penalty was fixed at a fine not exceeding $1,000. The oyster was nominally pro- tected by the provision that it should not be molested from May first to October first, excepting for home consumption.
While the existing laws seem to provide ample protection for fish, the state-wide and general indifference to their striet enforce- ment has made them of little avail. They provide no hateheries for the propagation of valuable varieties, and in the years past there has been a marked failure to cooperate with the National Fish Con- mission in re-stocking Florida waters. There seems to be little appre- eiation of the value of this asset. The apparently inexhaustible schools of fish that onee filled these streams and bays and inlets, have in- duced the blind belief that they could never be depleted and that
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the natural increase would supply for all time every demand that could be made.
RESULTS OF INDIFFERENCE
That this is an unsafe theory has become evident in numerous localities. Where even ten years ago the sportsmen could take splen- did strings of many varieties within a few hours, as many days now fail to bring like rewards. The records of shipments by express to points outside the state, of fish caught in Florida waters in four years -- from 1903 to 1906, both included -- was more than 550,000 barrels. These shipments-111,500,000 pounds-at the low value of 5 cents a pound, were worth $5,750,000, and from this not a cent of revenue came to the state of Florida. These shipments, be it remembered, were by express only and did not include an incalculable amount shipped in bulk in carload lots. Nor did they include an enormous aggregate of waste of fish taken and thrown away because they were too small for commercial uses.
In spite of the laws made for the protection of shad in the St. Johns river and a few other streams in which this fish is found, they have been almost exhausted of this valuable food, in face of the fact that less than ten years ago the fish commissioner of Florida in co- operation with the United States Fish Commission, planted fifteen million shad fry in these waters, without a dollar of expense to the state.
OYSTER CULTIVATION
The possibilities of the oyster as a source of income to the state have already been hinted. The estimate of half a million acres of waters under the jurisdiction of the state suitable for this culture, is not an overestimate. For this cultivation certain conditions are essential, which are found in perfection in many localities. Of the greatest importance is the salinity of the water with the reasonable prospect of its permanence. The proper density of water for the oyster is between 1.011 and 1.018, although 1.002 will serve to keep up an existence for a limited period. The measurements are made with the salinometer, pure water being rated at 1.000.
Another important requisite is the character of the bottom, which should be sufficiently hard to prevent the young oyster during its period of fixation from being smothered in mud or covered with sand. The conditions favorable for oyster culture abound in much larger degree and extent on the Gulf coast than on the Atlantic side. This
FLORIDA ALLIGATOR
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is due to the fact that the gulf is fed by many streams, and these are fewer on the east coast.
Along the east coast are several localities in which valuable natural oyster beds are found, as near the mouth of the St. Johns river and bar; at and below St. Augustime along the Matanzas river, where a number of fresh-water streams reach salt water; and at or near Ormond, Daytona and New Smyrna. On the western side of the state such beds are found in large areas from Pensacola to Tampa and even south of that important point.
As a source of income these oyster beds might be made most valu- able if proper legislation and its rigid enforcement were insisted upon. How great this revenue might become, must be largely a matter of speculation, but dependable deductions may be drawn from the actual experience of other states.
VALUE OF THE INDUSTRY
Rhode Island, whose oyster products are in no way superior in quality to those of Florida, has a shore line of one hundred miles, not including the meanderings of bays and inlets, as compared with eleven hundred miles for the great southern peninsula. The area of Florida's oyster beds may be regarded as greater than those of the little New England state in the proportion that its shore line is longer. The Shell Fish Commission of that northern state was first named in 1864. In that year its gross receipts from the oyster products were sixty-one dollars. They were more than one hundred thousand dollars in 1908. This income was derived from the leasing of the oyster waters, the charge being from five to ten dollars a year an acre, the variations being according to the quality and quantity of the product.
The reports from the oyster and shell fish industries controlled by Virginia and Maryland show confirmatory results. It is unnecessary to carry the calculations further to show the possibilities of Flor- ida's half million acres, which are adapted to the cultivation of this bivalve. Under the system of intensive cultivation practiced by the industrious and ingenious Japanese, it is claimed that every square yard of oyster bed surface may be made to produce one bushel every eighteen months. Under present American methods, fostered by due diligence and watchfulness, every acre should produce one thousand bushels every two years.
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SHELL FISH PROTECTION
A realization of the necessity for immediate action in order that the oyster industry might not be entirely destroyed in Florida, re- sulted in the passage of an important act by the Legislature of 1913. This act provided for the appointment of an officer to be known as the Shell Fish Commissioner, who is to act under the State Commis- sioner of Agriculture. The act asserted the ownership by Florida in the oyster beds and other shell fish bottoms under the jurisdiction of the state. It gave to the Shell Fish Commissioner and his deputies, police powers to enforce the provisions of the act. It provided for the leasing of oyster and other shell fish bottoms only to citizens of Florida or to corporations legally authorized to do business in the state. It limited to five hundred acres the area that may be rented to any one lessee, with the provision that the entire area shall be im- proved for the propagation of the shell fish contemplated in the lease, within a given period. It provided for a tax of two cents on every barrel of unshucked oysters or other shell fish that may be taken from these leased bottoms, and for a rental of fifty cents an acre per year for the lease of such bottoms, which at the expiration of ten years may be increased to a minimum of one dollar an acre. Certain other licenses were provided on each vessel used in the taking of shell fish, and the act made the closed season in which oysters may not be taken, from April fifteenth to October first of each year. It imposed penalties for violation of the act proportionate to the gravity of the offence. The cooperation of the commissioners of the several counties of the state were enlisted by granting them the authority to appropriate funds for the improvement of the bottoms within their jurisdictions, and an appropriation of ten thousand dollars was auth- orized for the improvement of the natural oyster beds of the state.
The wisdom of the Governor has been shown in the selection of a man of energy and discretion for the position of Shell Fish Commis- sioner, and it is reasonable to anticipate that this splendid resource of the state will be restored within the next ten to fifteen years to its former productive value.
CHAPTER XVIII FLORIDA SPONGE FISHERIES
F THE world's supply of sponges, Florida waters, next to the Mediterranean, are the largest producer, O and a little city on the west coast of the state -- Tarpon Springs-is the market place for nine-tenths of the supply that Florida, or the United States 00 furnishes. The industry is unique from the fact that it is carried on mainly, almost exclusively, by foreigners, with whom native labor has been unable to compete.
Of this industry of sponge fishing probably less is known by the average person, than of any other by which an article in common use is produced. The person of average information is probably aware that the sponge comes from salt water and that it is a form of animal life and growth. He might not be aware that more than fifty varieties have been classified by naturalists, and that but few of them have a commercial value, so far as has yet been discovered. He might not know that the wholesale value of the world's annual consumption is less than five million dollars, and that more than one-half of the supply comes from the Mediterranean, and that Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba, in the order named, are the next largest producers.
It is an interesting story, that of these Florida sponge fisheries, one that involves features differing from those of any other industry that flourishes under the protection-or without it-of the Govern- ment at Washington. To understand it makes necessary a bit of history.
DISCOVERY IN FLORIDA WATERS
Several merchantable varieties of sponges were found on both sides of the southern half of the Florida peninsula, in the shallow waters of the keys and the Ten Thousand Islands on the Gulf side, more than fifty years ago. The first cargo was shipped from Key West in 1849 and found a ready sale in New York. From that time sponges became an article of commerce from the Island City. Grad-
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ually the supply from this section, which had been gathered from less than a thousand square miles along the southern end of the state, was depleted. The discovery of new sponging grounds, which now cover nearly thirty-four hundred square miles along the western side of Florida and extending well out into the Gulf of Mexico, brought the center of the industry to Tarpon Springs. Less than ten years ago the marketing place of the largest supply was wrested from Key West, and now ninety-five percent of the American sponge harvest is handled through the smaller city on the gulf.
METHODS OF SPONGING
The first sponges were those washed up from the sea. The next were those pulled from their anchorages in shallow waters by fisher- men wading or diving for them. Then came the three-tined hook with which the sponges were gathered from boats. Gradually the handles on these hooks were lengthened to thirty or forty feet, so that the work could be carried on in deeper water. It happened, however, that the hook could sometimes be manipulated in deeper water than the eye could penetrate clearly. The surface ripples interrupted the vision, and to remedy this came the water glass, which is an ordinary bucket fitted with a glass bottom. With this the dis- turbing glare was cut off and the "hooker" could see the sponges in five or six fathoms, which was the limit of depth in which he could handle the cumbersome hook.
This method, however primitive, was the sole means of gathering the American sponge crop until about 1905, yet it was enough to prac- tically exhaust the waters along the southern and southeastern bor- ders of the state and to move the center of the industry one hundred and fifty miles up the Gulf coast. The rapidly lessening production even of the developed Gulf sponge beds in 1903 and 1904, suggested the employment of the deep-sea methods of Mediterranean waters.
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