Group hopes Greek divers buoy sponge industry

An increase in sponge production would help Tarpon Springs, some say.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 31, 2001

TARPON SPRINGS -- In an effort to bolster the supply of sponges from waters around Tarpon Springs, a group of local sponge buyers, divers and boat captains wants to import experienced divers from Greece.

The Sponge Associates of Florida, a new organization, hopes to revitalize the local sponge industry, which has struggled to find enough divers.

"We need the production," said Jim Skaroulis, owner of Sponge Brokers International and a member of Sponge Associates. Otherwise, he said, sponge diving "is going to be a dying breed."

Tarpon Springs city commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday night to support the goals of Sponge Associates. Commissioner Cindy Domino was absent and Commissioner Beverley Billiris abstained from the vote because she is in the sponge business.

Commissioners passed a resolution that said the organization's objectives should be supported, although Billiris pointed out that this is an effort of private industry, not the city.

If the plan works out, the new divers would work alongside experienced divers in Tarpon Springs and could train locals with less time in the water, Billiris said. The goal, she said, is to have more people diving and increase the local supply of sponges.

"We're not replacing divers," she said. "My biggest thing is that I want to see the dollars being brought back to Tarpon Springs."

The group is trying to get support from the city, as well as state and county representatives, to help the divers get temporary work permits.

Skaroulis said he would like divers to come up with more sponges from this area. He said the sponges found here, known as Rock Island sponges, are thought to be among the highest-quality in the world.

Instead, he often has to fill orders for customers with sponges from the Bahamas and the Mediterranean.

He pointed out that some local sponge boats don't have enough divers to take regular trips into the gulf.

Last summer, observers of sponge diving, Tarpon Springs' signature industry, said fewer and fewer locals want to make a living as sponge divers. In the old days, it was a rite of passage for the city's young men to go on a sponging boat and learn the trade from their fathers, many of whom were Greek immigrants. But with the easy availability of jobs that offer steady wages and predictable benefits, it has become harder to sign up new divers.

Another problem, Skaroulis said, is that some local divers are inexperienced and only dive in shallow water. Divers from Greece, he said, are accustomed to deep water.

"This isn't a game," he said. "When you go out in deep waters, it's difficult and dangerous. In Greece, for 150 years they've been doing it."

Supporters of the proposal hope importing divers would have an effect on the tourist economy. Many visitors to the city go there because of the sponge diving history, Billiris said.

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