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Preserve and protect submerged heritage resources for current and future generations.

In estimated 50,000 shipwrecks, including the ironclad civil war vessel, the U.S.S. Monitor, are scattered throughout the U.S. territorial sea and the Exclusive Economic Zone. These shipwrecks and other sunken artifacts are time capsules of the world's history. Until the advent of scuba diving equipment and other technological developments in the 1950s, submerged heritage resources were largely undisturbed by humans. Advances in deep-sea technology have created unprecedented opportunities for discovering, researching, accessing, and preserving resources, and for educating the public about the history, people, and cultures associated with these unique and irreplaceable sites.

Unfortunately, new capabilities make these sites highly vulnerable to exploitation and destruction by treasure hunters and souvenir collectors, resulting in their loss and destruction. Even submerged heritage resources in state waters, which were to be protected from treasure hunting under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, are still subject to commercial exploitation. Special care must be taken to preserve and protect these precious resources for scientific study and public interpretation and appreciation. Special care must also be taken to respect human remains, including tribal sites.

Ongoing Concerns

• Submerged heritage resources are often treated as commodities for private financial gain, rather than managed as public scientific resources in need of protection under laws based on historic preservation and environmental protection.
• In certain situations, submerged heritage resources cannot be removed from the marine environment without risk of harm to natural and cultural resources.
• Submerged heritage resources include diverse prehistoric and historic sites. The interests of tribes in such resources are often overlooked.
• The extent of damage caused to the environment by reckless recovery activities is unknown.
• While protections exist in many state waters and in federal marine protected areas, submerged heritage resources are exploited and destroyed outside of these areas.
• Certain sunken vessels and aircraft may be dangerous (e.g., contain unexploded ordnance), or should not be disturbed out of respect for the crew members who died on board. There may also be national security reasons why a sunken vessel or aircraft should not be disturbed.
• States do not always preserve submerged heritage resources, and states that want to do so are often unable to because of the historical law of salvage and finds.

Recommendations

• Enact federal legislation that will: prohibit the destruction and loss of submerged heritage resources; punish those who injure or destroy these and associated natural resources; provide for appropriate public access; develop a research and recovery permitting process; require adherence to scientific standards; provide for the conservation and disposition of recovered materials in qualified repositories; ensure sensitive treatment of any human remains; and protect sovereign immune vessels and aircraft that have not been expressly abandoned.
• Clarify, through legislation, the meaning of abandoned in the Abandoned Shipwreck Act so that states can better preserve submerged heritage resources.
• Support cooperation and collaboration with tribes, states, and communities on ways to protect submerged heritage resources, including legal regimes, consistent guidelines and procedures for evaluating best preservation and recovery plans, exploration and monitoring programs, and efforts to educate the public about the value and fragility of these resources.

For more information

http://monitor.nos.noaa.gov
http://www.nps.gov/scru/home.htm
http://www.nps.gov/usar/
http://www.history.navy.mil