CORAL AND SPONGE DIVING ON THE ISLAND OF KRAPANJ

Motif: Authors’ creation on the subject of corals and sponges SPONGE DIVING Sponge diving has been known since the Ancient World. The inhabitants of the islands in the Aegean Sea have been mentioned as the first sponge harvesters who have spread sponge diving to other parts of the Mediterranean Sea. Until the first half of the 19th century, the European market used to be supplied exclusively with Mediterranean sponges, and it was only round the year 1840 that regions have been discovered in the sea beds of the Bahamas where dense colonies of high quality sponges were spread out. On the Croatian coast sponge diving was first mentioned in 1522. Two inhabitants of Zlarin started diving for sponges for a merchant from Šibenik who then used to sell them in Venice. The inhabitants of the island of Krapanj became seriously engaged in sponge diving at the end of the 17th century and since then they have been considered the only sponge harvesters on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. In 1911, the sponge harvesters from Krapanj founded a sponge-diving cooperative with 16 divers, 6 diving apparatuses and 30 boats. In 1947 the enterprise Spužvar (‘Sponger’) was founded that has continued developing in the course of the years and both gathered and processed sponges with more or less success. The sea sponge has a wide applicable value even today, though modern technology, using various synthetic materials, endeavours to imitate its natural qualities that are manifested by its sturdiness, toughness, softness, readiness to absorb water, etc. Sponges are primitive multicellular animals. There are 5000 species living in the sea, but only 15 species among them have applicable value, and sponger usually refer to them as tame sponges. Colonies of tame sponges develop in all warmer seas. In the Croatian Adriatic sea beds a high quality sponge in great demand, Euspongia officinalis adriatica, is widely spread, and its can grow up to 40 cm in diameter. The sponges have the quality of regenerable bio-resources, but their exploitation should be performed with great responsibility. Our sponge gatherers would secure a higher income if they paid more attention to the processing and even cultivating of sponges and prevent the export of semi-processed sponges. By introducing better organization, sponge diving could develop into a very profitable economic activity. CORAL DIVING The red coral (Corallium rubrum) is usually referred to as the red gold of the Mediterranean. It was dived from the sea by the old Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and beautiful and highly appreciated ornamentation was manufactured. Many legends are linked to the red coral; some regard it a source of vital energy, a holy stone, etc., and in some regions in our country new-born babies are adorned with a coral bracelet to ward off a bad spell. The first Croatian coral diver was Mihajlo Sinković from Šibenik, who possessed a license for the diving and processing of corals which he received in 1687. Among the many centuries long tradition of coral diving on the Adriatic, we consider the one on the island of Zlarin to be the most outstanding. During the time of the Venetian power, the inhabitants of Zlarin used to equip up to 16 boats for coral diving and on the day when they were to leave on the expedition the whole population of the island participated in the procession that used to end with the blessing of the boats. After the blessing the fishermen received gifts of cheese, onions and vinegar from their wives, and then they would set off round midnight from the port in order not to be struck by evil eyes, i.e. they tried to avoid being spotted by the Venetians. The punishment for concealing the catch could sometimes come to getting a sentence of being sent to the galleys. In the course of the 18th century, the Galbiani family managed all the fishing-ground that was under the government administration of Italy, later Austria. Since 1868 coral diving was proclaimed free and exempt from state taxes, but despite this coral diving in Dalmatia has kept going downhill, because the supplies of non-processed corals were poorly sold, and there were no people engaged in manufacturing coral ornamentation. At the beginning of the 20th century there were some cooperatives founded in Zlarin that were supposed to help revive the tradition of coral diving. They also established coral-cutting workshops for cutting and grinding of corals and producing ornamentation. This attempt has soon gone to the dogs, so it was after World War II that the coral-cutting industry has been revived again and reached the level of former successful times, but on the other hand it seems to have lost the battle against various artificial materials for the production of diverse sorts of coral ornamentation. Nowadays we can witness the fact that uncontrolled quantities of corals are dived and then smuggled out of the country to other countries that have a developed coral-cutting industry and the manufacturing of valuable ornamentation. It is high time for us to protect our sponges and corals and organize a responsible management and processing of this wonderful treasure of our Adriatic sea.