The Key West Bight, now known as the Key West Historic Seaport, is the site of a 200-year-old global maritime trade base in Key West, Florida, USA. A bend in the shoreline on the northwest side of the island created a

bight The word is derived from Old English ''byht'' (“bend, angle, corner; bay, bight”). In modern English, bight may refer to: * Bight (geography), recess of a coast, bay, or other curved feature * Bight (knot), a curved section, slack part, or loo ...

, a wide bay and naturally protected harbor. Today, the Historic Seaport is the location of restaurants, bars, boutiques, art galleries, museums, hotels, boats, and watersports excursions.

Historical industry

Turtles

FMIB 32558 Sponge Auction Wharf at Key West

In the mid to late 1800s,

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...

s were a prized commodity and sea turtle consumption was a substantial industry, with tens of thousands of green turtles harvested from

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

waters every year. Sea turtle meat was used in steaks and soups, their skin was turned to leather, and their shells were used in jewelry. At the bight, turtles were kept live in “kraals,” dockside pens, before being butchered, processed, and canned. Norberg Thompson, founder of Thompson Enterprises and The Thompson Fish Company, began his operations in the turtle industry. He was an influential Key West businessman who significantly developed the bight. During the Great Depression, Thompson employed 40% of Key West, and he went on to become the town's mayor. In 1973, the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

put an end to harvesting all green sea turtles. Today, the bight is home to Turtle Kraals restaurant and the Key West Turtle Cannery Museum.

Sponges

In 1849, the first sponge shipment arrived in New York from Key West. There was great demand for Key West sponges and the industry created 1,200 jobs on 350 sponge fishing vessels, known as "hook boats", based in the Key West Bight. Business dropped off significantly when local waters became depleted and disappeared altogether with the arrival and popularity of artificial sponges. The Key West sponging industry was the setting of the 1953 film

Beneath the 12 Mile Reef ''Beneath the 12-Mile Reef'' is a 1953 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Robert Wagner, Terry Moore and Gilbert Roland. The screenplay was by A.I. Bezzerides. The film was the third motion picture made ...

Shrimp

In 1947, Tortugas pink shrimp were discovered in Gulf waters off Key West. Shrimp trawlers were housed at the bight. The lucrative shrimp industry was known as the “Pink Gold Rush” and the shrimps themselves were called “Key West Pinks.” During this time, Booty Singleton's seafood company, Singleton Packing Corporation, took advantage of the availability of shrimps and became a national name. Because of his success in the industry, Singleton became known as the "Shrimp King". Shrimping continued until the late 1980s when the shrimp population was decimated and shrimpers left Key West.

Historic Seaport today

In January 1999, the bight was officially renamed Key West Historic Seaport and Harborwalk. One vessel found at the Historic Seaport today is the ''

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

'', a schooner built in 1939 and the last surviving authentic working tall ship from Florida. It is the flagship of the state of Florida and the city of Key West. The historic seaport is home to a number of large artworks, including by artists

Robert Wyland Wyland (born July 9, 1956) is an American artist and conservationist best known for his more than 100 ''Whaling Walls'', large outdoor murals featuring images of life-size whales and other sea life to call attention to the plight of whales thro ...

and Ryan Stimers. Businesses at the seaport include The Waterfront Brewery and Cuban Coffee Queen and the bight is the site of sunset cruises. In 2018, the Key West Historic Seaport was recognized by the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation with the Meritorious Achievement Award for Organizational Achievement.

References

{{Key West History of Key West, Florida Geography of Florida