Sponge Fishermen working in the waters of Biscayne Bay, Florida. The men are mostly Cuban immigrants who use to harvest sponges in Cuba. in 1999 federal officials outlawed sponging in the park, they curtailed the livelihood of about 40 sponge fishermen who were forced to move their operations to areas with fewer and poorer-quality sponges. In the process authorities dealt a near fatal blow to an industry powered largely by Cuban exiles, who had sponged for generations in their native land. Despite the ban some immigrant fishermen simply refused to quit.