THE SPONGE INDUSTRY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21531, 19 December 1939, Page 8

THE SPONGE INDUSTRY

3000 Fishermen In Bahamas Held Up By Mystery Infection A mystery infection which struck the Bahamas sponge be.ds in December, 1938, and threatened to wipe out one of the principal industries of this British colony, has been identified as a fungus-like filament. Although the malady has spread to some beds outside the Bahamas, with a mortality of between 70 and 95 per cent, scientists believe the worst of the epidemic has passed, and that the industry can restore itself within the next three of four years. Meanwhile the industry is keeping active by drawing on a large reserve stock of healthy sponges. The Bahamas rank third after Florida and Cuba in world sponge production, and the lowly sponge is second only to visitors as a source of income for the colony. Six commercial species of sponges are found in the clear blue waters of the Bahamian Archipelago, growing on natural mud banks or on rocks in comparatively shallow water. Most sought after is the wool sponge, with its soft texture like sheep’s wool. The others, in order of their value, are velvet, grass, yellow, hardhead, and reef. The last three vary in value, too, according to the localities from which they are obtained. Only a Skeleton The brown or yellow-coloured sponge of commerce is really only a skeleton of a jet-black or dark brown multi-cellu-lar animal that grows on the sea bottom anchored by strong “roots” to some hard object, such as a piece of rock or a coral reef. In the Bahamas a large fleet of sailing boats and nearly 3000 native fishermen are engaged annually in harvesting the sponge crop, which like land crops, is subject to destruction by hurricanes, blights, and many other hazards. Gathering sponges does not involve diving in the Bahamas, for the creatures live in relatively shallow water. Each sponge boat carries on its broad decks a “fleet” of small dingies. When the sponge fishing ground is reached the dinghies are launched. While one man sculls with a single oar at the stern another peers through a glassbottom bucket (which eliminates sun