One hundred years ago Roko Tanfara started to harvest wild sea sponges using just long fishing spears with 2 to 3 men as helpers on the boat. Harvesting was usually done from Uljcin to Boka Kotorska region in boats not more than 6 meters long. Methods were archaical with no mechanical engines, using just the men’s strenght and the forces of nature
In the meantime the people of Krapanj had set up a diving association and, later on, created a company called Spuzvar where great grandfather Roko and most of the islanders started working.
Harvesting with long fishing spears went on until just after WWII when Svetin and Joso, grandfather Like’s sons, started learning to dive with full traditional heavy diving gear while in the Navy. This diving gear consisted of a diving suit made of impregnated canvas, weights, helmet, an air pump and shoes weighing 85 kg.
After leaving the Navy, the two brothers set about acquiring new more modern diving gear and making a new diving boat that could have a crew of up to 8 men. Harvesting is being done along the whole Adriatic coast all the way to Libya. A year’s harvest was from 300 to 500 kg of sponges and the selling of raw sponges was done all around the world.
In 1989 the Tanfara family modernises its diving crew once more with the use of new light weight diving gear under the lead of Danko Tanfara. During the war years at the beginning of 1990’s sponge harvesting became almost impossible, with no possibilities of export and 5 years of stock on hand.
During 2002, the now traditional activity is taken over by Roko Tanfara. He modernises the business with two new boats, setting up a sponge refinery using a special oxidation method. He starts implementing targeted sales of finished products. He is also intensely working on the development of medical sponge products with international partners.
Spuga 2, in cooperation with its international partner the Lohmann Rausher Gmbh pharmaceutical company, starts working on a new method for the chemical processing of raw sponges. Prof.dr. Alupei Corneliu, Prof.dr. Peter Ruth and Roko Tanfara concluded their research in 2017 with a revolutionary new way of processing sponges which they have since protected with a patent.
