Social Conflict, Over-Fishing and Disease in the Florida Sponge Fishery, 1849–1939

During the late 19th century, poor coastal fishermen in Florida prospered from the sale of millions of pounds of bath sponges to the North American metropolises of New York, Chicago and St Louis. ‘Sponger money’ was said to ‘ever flow’ (Sweeting, undated) and fishing for marine sponges formed the basis of entire local economies along the coast. Money flowed into the pockets of small-scale fishermen who transformed living sponges into Florida’s most valuable marine commodity. Until 1905, the banks of marine sponges in the reefs and hard-bottom environments of the Florida Keys were partially protected from over-fishing by the awkwardness of the fishing gear. Key West spongers used long-handled rakes to grope for sponges in the shallows, leaving deep-water sponges to grow and reproduce.