The Sponge Industry of the Caribbean Area

Abstract

I N 1840, a certain Frenchman named Hayman, while returning to Europe from Jamaica, was shipwrecked in the Bahamas near Nassau and was detained for some time. Attracted by the great number of sponges in use among the natives, he carried five or six hundred specimens home with him and placed them on the market. He had no difficulty in disposing of them. At once arrangements were made through the French Consul at Nassau for additional supplies. In 1849, Ilayman, through his brother-in-law, a Mr. Isaacs of New York, the oldest regular sponge dealer in the United States, contracted for regular shipments of Bahaman sponges to France. No doubt he little realized that from his interest in sponges, the industry would grow, within a hundred years, to one of one and a half million dollar value. Within the span existing between the time of shipping this trial lot to Paris, in 1841, to the present, lies the entire history of the sponge industry in the Western Hemisphere (Figure 1). With increased demand for sponges in both the automotive and paint trades, the two chief uses, a more complete knowledge of the areas both actual and potential, producing sponges seems desirable. The area formed by the meridians 75 and 85 west longitude and the parallels 20 and 30 north latitude constitutes the region of chief concentration in the Western Hemisphere. In 1935 it supplied 74 per cent of the world's tonnage in sponges and 44 per cent of their value. Scattered locations outside this region yield very few. In the United States, Tarpon Springs, Florida, ranks as the center of chief importance. Outside the United States, Nassau in the Bahamas and Batabano in Cuba receive practically all the catch of the Caribbean, with Cuba far in the lead. In 1935 these regions together contributed 66 per cent of the weight and 43 per cent of the value of sponges of the western world.