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FWC extends sponge diving to northern
Gulf
April 12, 2007
Contact: Lee Schlesinger, (850) 487-0554
The harvest of commercial sponges by diving will
be legal in parts of Northwest Florida marine waters beginning
July 1.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) approved a rule Thursday to extend the area
where harvest of commercial sponges is allowed by diving from
west of 84 degrees west longitude, near Cabell Point on the
eastern border of Jefferson County, to Cape San Blas.
The rule also specifies that all commercial
sponges taken by divers must be cut rather than pulled from the
sea bottom.
The commercial harvest of sponges in Florida is
a historical fishery that is principally concentrated along the
central Gulf of Mexico near the traditional sponge docks in
Tarpon Springs and in the Florida Keys. This fishery is the
source of natural sponges used for a variety of household
cleaning purposes and also supports a curio trade.
Of the many species of sponges that occur in
Florida, only a few are sought after by the fishery and
regulated. These species are called "commercial sponges” and
include the sheepswool, grass, yellow, glove, finger, wire, reef
and velvet sponges.
Commercial sponges can now be legally harvested
by diving in all state waters north of the southernmost point of
Egmont Key, northward and westward to the 84 degrees west
longitude line. They also may be harvested by diving in all
state waters beyond 3 nautical miles from the shoreline south of
Egmont Key to the Monroe and Collier county line.
Commercial fishers requested that state waters
in the northern Gulf also be open to sponge harvest, and the FWC
believes this fishery will be limited and will have negligible
impacts to sponge abundance.
Current regulations specify that persons wishing
to land sponges in commercial quantities must possess a valid
Saltwater Products License and a valid sponge endorsement.
Legally harvestable commercial sponges must also
be at least five inches in diameter, and there are areas
specified where sponges may and may not be taken by diving. A
daily recreational bag limit of 10 commercial sponges per day
also applies, and sponging in Biscayne National Park is
prohibited. |
