Bahamas Philately: Bahamian Sponge Boat

The Bahamian sponge industry appears to have been started by a Frenchman, Gustave Renouard, who was shipwrecked in the Bahamas in 1841 and who began dispatching sponges to Paris as soon as he had recovered from the ordeal. Two years later, the sun-scorched scattering of British islands exported 132 bales of the increasingly popular bath item to London stores.

At the height of the trade there were 265 schooners, 322 sloops and 2,808 dinghies in the sponging fleet. A single vessel might return with between 5,000 and 15,000 after one voyage.

In 1937, a closed season on sponge fishing was imposed, and harvesting of sponges under a certain size was forbidden. In November and December 1938, a microscopic fungus disease attacked the Bahamian sponge beds, wiping out 99 percent of sponges.