Scenes From Tampa Bay Area
Read MoreTarpon Springs is the sponge capitol of the world (so the sign says). Many decades ago the was a sponge blight in Greece that killed most of the sponges. The sponge fishermen, without a livelihood, were easily persuaded to move to Tarpon Springs where sponges were and are still plentiful. This statue depicts the old traditional sponge diving suit. The feet were weighted so the diver could walk across the ocean floor picking sponges. He would place them into a basket like the one you see on the boat behind him. Oxygen was pumped from the surface to the diver through air hoses. Behind the stature is a sponge boat loaded with sponges. They'll be cleaned, clipped, and prepared for auction where they'll be sold.