**Abstract**

Sponges are very primitive multicellular organisms that belong to *phylum Porifera*; they are sessile and live attached to different types of hard and soft substrates. Sponges have different shapes and colours and very varied sizes, from a few millimetres to more than 2 m in height. They inhabit mainly in the marine environment at different depths. This chapter describes the general biological characteristics of sponges, their properties, uses and applications. Moreover, this study discusses a commercial fishery analysis of this natural resource in Cuba during the period 1970–2017, as well as the different characteristics of their natural populations subjected to commercial extraction. The applied techniques for aquaculture, harvest and postharvest processing are reviewed, including those procedures adapted from other countries or locally developed by Cuban fishermen. Finally, this study examines the challenges and perspectives of this productive activity with a long-term eco-sustainable approach.

**Keywords:** sponges, ecology, aquaculture, production, Cuba

## **1. Introduction**

Sponges are very primitive pluricellular aquatic organisms that belong to *phylum Porifera*; they are sessile species and live adhered to different types of soft and hard substrates. *Porifera* are of diverse shapes and colours and have very varied sizes, from a few millimetres to more than two metres in height. They are found practically at all depths; non-polluted coastal zones and tropical reefs are especially rich in this type of species. The majority of sponges are marine, and only is the family *Spongillidae* known to live in fresh water. Until well into the eighteenth century, the origin of sponges was justified differently as nests of certain marine animals or plants. In 1786, John Ellis, an Englishman, observed retraction and expansion movements of the sponge pores, as well as water currents flowing through their bodies, so he classified them as animal organisms. Nevertheless, sponges lack some characteristics of typical animals, such as not having organs totally differentiated, which in a way could be considered equivalent to sets of specialised cells that pump water through their whole body to obtain oxygen, food, transport waste and reproductive products. Their reproduction is sexual and asexual; this last one is the most common as it occurs at any moment by gemmulation, formation of root-like extensions and fragmentation of the mother sponge. Sexual reproduction can be hermaphrodite with separate sexes in definite or temporal form. Oviparous and

viviparous species have also been recorded; in both cases, the eggs or larvae are released through the exhaling water current [1–3].

Close to 9000 sponge species are estimated to exist in the world, but only do a few ones belong to the order *Keratosa* and the family *Spongiidae*, which have been traditionally utilised for commercial purposes [4, 3]. These kinds of sponges are characterised by having a corneal skeleton densely reticulated, free of spicules with a great capacity to retain water, elasticity and durability [5]. The main commercial value of natural sponges is given by their high capacity for water retention and because they can pump 1200 times their own volume per day. *Keratosa* and *Spongiidae* are able to retain up to 90% of particulate organic material, such as plankton, bacteria and even viruses suspended in water besides their resistance to acids and greater easiness for cleaning with respect to the artificial ones [6, 7].

The demand of natural sponges has been growing because of the market preference for natural products and the increase of their use in man's life, such as domestic, cosmetic, biomedicine, pharmaceutical, pottery, art industry, filter, cleaning and industrial purposes, among other uses. The commonly called 'bath sponges' of the family *Spongiidae* have a high price in the market although their offer has decreased due to natural reduction and impact of different natural and anthropogenic factors, among them, increase in frequency and intensity of extreme meteorological events, such as hurricanes, deriving from climate change or variability, pollution, disease incidence and overexploitation of natural populations [8]. The industrial and domestic sponges in Cuba have an international market that rises above 40 million USD annually [9].

Natural populations in sponge zones in the world, such as the Antillean region (Cuba, Bahamas and Florida), guarantee more than 50% of the world production. In Mexico, the Caribbean reefs (Isla Mujeres, QR) and the Gulf of Mexico have great species richness that includes the three classes that integrate *phylum Porifera: Calcarea*, *Hexactinellida* and *Demospongiae*. Nonetheless, no commercial exploitation of sponges exists in Mexico. Although none of the species of this taxonomic group are found protected by the Mexican norm NOM-059, natural sponge populations are located in protected natural areas, national marine parks or biosphere reserves under conservation legislation [3]. On the other hand, the production zones that stand out are the Mediterranean Sea (Syria, Turkey and Greece), the Adriatic Sea (Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Italy) and the North Pacific Ocean (Philippine Sea, Carolina Islands and Marshall Islands) [4, 10].

The species from the Mediterranean are considered as those with the best quality and commercial value, of which those that stand out are the species *Spongia officinalis* or 'Fina' [in Spanish] (the best of all the commercial species; bath sponge), *Hippospongia communis* 'Común' [in Spanish] (of greater abundance; horse sponge), *Spongia zimoca* and *Spongia agaricina* or 'Oreja de Elefante' [in Spanish] (elephant ear; lamella) [4, 5].

In the Antillean region, the best commercial sponges have come from Cuba and the Bahamas Islands. Although several species have been reported in Cuba, four species have been the target for capture because of their abundance [1, 11–13]. Of the four species, three of them correspond to those commonly called 'machos' [males] from the genus *Spongia*: *Spongia barbara* (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) called in Cuba 'macho fino' [fine male], *Spongia obscura* (Hyatt, 1877) or 'macho cueva' [cave male] and *Spongia graminea* (Hyatt, 1877) or 'macho guante' [glove male] and the one called 'hembra de ojo' [eye female] or Wool of the genus *Hippospongia* and *Hippospongia lachne* (Laubenfels, 1936), which is the one with the greatest commercial value in Cuba although other species usually show up in capture.

The presence of commercial sponges, as well as their fishing or recollection, has been reported in Cuba since the nineteenth century. During colony times, fishing

**105**

**Figure 1.**

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

**2. Analysis of the commercial sponge fishery in Cuba**

boats from the Bahamas would reach the coasts of the Caribbean and Nuevitas (northeast of Cuba) to fish sponges with licence from Spanish authorities where more than 150 thousand dozen were fished by Cubans in 1867 [14]. Years later, sponge fishing was developed in southwestern Cuba with fishermen from Batabanó port, and because of their abundance, the two fishing zones in Cuba were established: (1) the northeast zone exploited by boats and fishermen from Caibarién where the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago is located and (2) the Gulf of Batabanó, in southwest Cuba, exploited by boats from Batabanó fishing port. By 1886 offices in London and Paris were established to commercialise this product [15]. In 1930, the production went beyond 1 million dozen until 1939 and up to 1943 when a disease known as 'tizón' (blight), caused by the fungus *Spoingiophaga communis*, reduced the Cuban, Bahamas and Florida populations. Jointly with this situation, damage caused by a hurricane in 1944 led to a decrease in sponge production in the

This chapter discusses the principal studies and criteria related to commercial sponge fishery and aquaculture advances in Cuba, the main impacting factors that limit their abundance, and the challenges to increase aquaculture production of this important resource sustainably in the long term and with an ecosystem approach.

Sponge fishery in Cuba has shown two extraction procedures, in accordance with the characteristics of the extraction zone, fishermen's age and regional traditions [17–19]: (1) by means of hooking implements for sponge recollection from auxiliary (small) boats that are towed by a sponsor, so fisherman immersion is not needed, or (2) by diving in apnoea for detaching or cutting the sponges from the closest part to the fixation substrate. Practically, no evolution in the fishing form has taken place throughout the years. The shallowness of the area where sponges inhabit has determined the fishing system that has followed the traditional method, using a glass bottom bucket and a stick with a double hook or trident to detach the

Cuba reached an important commercial sponge production with an average of 166 t in the period from 1910 to 1919; 505 t for 1920–1929 and 391 t for 1930–1939 [20]. From 1939 to 1943, the fungus (blight) disease decimated the populations jointly with the hurricane at the end of 1944, generating lower production levels until 1947 [16, 21]. During the period after 1960, fishery activity was reorganised in Cuba; the fleet was modernised, which decreased the number of sponge boats and fishermen; fishing areas were divided into zones by territories, establishing

*Traditional technique for sponge capture or recollection in Cuba, sponge boat, auxiliary boat and glass* 

*bottom bucket. Photography: La Empresa Pesquera Industrial de Caibarien (EPICAI).*

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

region to 16,000 dozen in 1947 [16].

sponge from the substrate (**Figure 1**).

*Sponge Fishery and Aquaculture in Cuba: Impacts and Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84785*

*Invertebrates - Ecophysiology and Management*

above 40 million USD annually [9].

released through the exhaling water current [1–3].

viviparous species have also been recorded; in both cases, the eggs or larvae are

Close to 9000 sponge species are estimated to exist in the world, but only do a few ones belong to the order *Keratosa* and the family *Spongiidae*, which have been traditionally utilised for commercial purposes [4, 3]. These kinds of sponges are characterised by having a corneal skeleton densely reticulated, free of spicules with a great capacity to retain water, elasticity and durability [5]. The main commercial value of natural sponges is given by their high capacity for water retention and because they can pump 1200 times their own volume per day. *Keratosa* and *Spongiidae* are able to retain up to 90% of particulate organic material, such as plankton, bacteria and even viruses suspended in water besides their resistance to acids and greater easiness for cleaning with respect to the artificial ones [6, 7]. The demand of natural sponges has been growing because of the market preference for natural products and the increase of their use in man's life, such as domestic, cosmetic, biomedicine, pharmaceutical, pottery, art industry, filter, cleaning and industrial purposes, among other uses. The commonly called 'bath sponges' of the family *Spongiidae* have a high price in the market although their offer has decreased due to natural reduction and impact of different natural and anthropogenic factors, among them, increase in frequency and intensity of extreme meteorological events, such as hurricanes, deriving from climate change or variability, pollution, disease incidence and overexploitation of natural populations [8]. The industrial and domestic sponges in Cuba have an international market that rises

Natural populations in sponge zones in the world, such as the Antillean region (Cuba, Bahamas and Florida), guarantee more than 50% of the world production. In Mexico, the Caribbean reefs (Isla Mujeres, QR) and the Gulf of Mexico have great species richness that includes the three classes that integrate *phylum Porifera: Calcarea*, *Hexactinellida* and *Demospongiae*. Nonetheless, no commercial exploitation of sponges exists in Mexico. Although none of the species of this taxonomic group are found protected by the Mexican norm NOM-059, natural sponge populations are located in protected natural areas, national marine parks or biosphere reserves under conservation legislation [3]. On the other hand, the production zones that stand out are the Mediterranean Sea (Syria, Turkey and Greece), the Adriatic Sea (Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Italy) and the North Pacific Ocean

The species from the Mediterranean are considered as those with the best quality

In the Antillean region, the best commercial sponges have come from Cuba and the Bahamas Islands. Although several species have been reported in Cuba, four species have been the target for capture because of their abundance [1, 11–13]. Of the four species, three of them correspond to those commonly called 'machos' [males] from the genus *Spongia*: *Spongia barbara* (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) called in Cuba 'macho fino' [fine male], *Spongia obscura* (Hyatt, 1877) or 'macho cueva' [cave male] and *Spongia graminea* (Hyatt, 1877) or 'macho guante' [glove male] and the one called 'hembra de ojo' [eye female] or Wool of the genus *Hippospongia* and *Hippospongia lachne* (Laubenfels, 1936), which is the one with the greatest commer-

The presence of commercial sponges, as well as their fishing or recollection, has been reported in Cuba since the nineteenth century. During colony times, fishing

and commercial value, of which those that stand out are the species *Spongia officinalis* or 'Fina' [in Spanish] (the best of all the commercial species; bath sponge), *Hippospongia communis* 'Común' [in Spanish] (of greater abundance; horse sponge), *Spongia zimoca* and *Spongia agaricina* or 'Oreja de Elefante' [in Spanish] (elephant

(Philippine Sea, Carolina Islands and Marshall Islands) [4, 10].

cial value in Cuba although other species usually show up in capture.

**104**

ear; lamella) [4, 5].

boats from the Bahamas would reach the coasts of the Caribbean and Nuevitas (northeast of Cuba) to fish sponges with licence from Spanish authorities where more than 150 thousand dozen were fished by Cubans in 1867 [14]. Years later, sponge fishing was developed in southwestern Cuba with fishermen from Batabanó port, and because of their abundance, the two fishing zones in Cuba were established: (1) the northeast zone exploited by boats and fishermen from Caibarién where the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago is located and (2) the Gulf of Batabanó, in southwest Cuba, exploited by boats from Batabanó fishing port. By 1886 offices in London and Paris were established to commercialise this product [15]. In 1930, the production went beyond 1 million dozen until 1939 and up to 1943 when a disease known as 'tizón' (blight), caused by the fungus *Spoingiophaga communis*, reduced the Cuban, Bahamas and Florida populations. Jointly with this situation, damage caused by a hurricane in 1944 led to a decrease in sponge production in the region to 16,000 dozen in 1947 [16].

This chapter discusses the principal studies and criteria related to commercial sponge fishery and aquaculture advances in Cuba, the main impacting factors that limit their abundance, and the challenges to increase aquaculture production of this important resource sustainably in the long term and with an ecosystem approach.
