**4. Sponge culture in Cuba**

The development of sustainable and economically viable fishery production alternatives, such as sponge culture, constitutes an additional contribution to environment sustainability. It is a working alternative for fishermen to create new community employment sources and generate income of foreign currency besides the need of moving from a predatory recollection activity to a productive aquaculture work, as a step in economic and cultural fishery development in the country [8].

Sponge culture offers a safe and predictable production of a superior quality product to that offered by natural capture besides its elevated price according to the market, quality and species. Besides the easiness of their collection in their natural environment because they are sessile organisms that are generally found in shallow waters, they do not need additional food to that filtered from their environment. This is the reason why its culture requires low investment cost and availability to schedule a tiered harvest. Moreover, its culture reduces fishing pressure on sponges in their natural medium, constituting a sustainable repopulation alternative to increase natural banks surrounding the aquaculture farms because of their larval contribution to the environment [35].

Initial sponge culture in Cuba goes back to several decades. A variance of sponge culture suspended in vertical lines was tested in Cuba in 1965 and described by García del Barco [36, 37] in a sponge culture handbook. The method of vertical suspended lines allowed using a greater area vertically taking advantage of the zone in a greater depth and avoiding being affected by surge as it occurs in lower zones where they traditionally inhabit.

Complete experimental cycles included sponge collection from their natural environment, seeding, harvesting and reseeding from seeds obtained from the same culture, cleaning process and commercialisation. Aquaculture procedures were performed with the assessment of scientific institutions, such as Centro de Investigaciones Pesqueras de Cuba [38, 39].

Although sponge culture was not consolidated to a commercial level, important conclusions were obtained from these studies:


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**Figure 7.**

*Graphic art and photography: [41].*

*Sponge Fishery and Aquaculture in Cuba: Impacts and Challenges*

The technical and scientific knowledge and field experiences derived from these experiments allowed editing a handbook of work procedures and operations for small sponge farms attended by the same extractive fishery crew [40]. Research and development has continued, and two culture methods have been tested during the

An experimental farm was projected by the Centro de Estudios y Servicios Ambientales (CESAM, its abbreviation in Spanish for Centre for Environmental Studies and Services) of Villa Clara, Cuba. It was sponsored by funding partners of the United Nations Development Programme for Global Environmental Finance (Small Donations GEF-PNUD). The sponge farm was located in a marine zone in the surroundings of the town Carahatas (Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago) northcentral coast of Cuba. One-hectare culture fences were built and installed in the sea. Metallic poles were buried in the seabed as basic support and plastic mesh cove to restrict access to predators. The 'free' sponge method was used in those subdivided

Starting from the contribution of the project GEF/PNUD/'Protección de la biodiversidad en tres sectores productivos del Archipiélago Sabana-Camagüey' [Biodiversity protection in three productive sectors of the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago], fishermen from the Caibarien Basic Enterprise Unit (EPICAI) built a farm in a northeast shallow marine zone with the advice from Centro de

that were used for 'seeding' and deposited in the substrate (approximately 2500 seeds/ha), at the mercy of currents and other natural water dynamics, until they reached a commercial size. A total of 12 ha seeded were obtained, which should provide 1 t of sponge in a year at a quote of more than \$15,000 USD in the

*Experimental sponge farm in Carahatas, Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, Cuba. Free sponge culture in lots.* 

(**Figure 7**).

pieces named as 'propagules'

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84785*

last decade, which are briefly described below.

1-ha lots, planting a density of 1 sponge/4 m2

Recollected sponges were cut in 4–5 cm3

**4.1 Free sponge method**

Investigaciones Pesqueras.

world market [41].

The technical and scientific knowledge and field experiences derived from these experiments allowed editing a handbook of work procedures and operations for small sponge farms attended by the same extractive fishery crew [40]. Research and development has continued, and two culture methods have been tested during the last decade, which are briefly described below.
