Compare the difference between the two
below links written by different reporters and see how scuba divers
who
find wrecks are demonized and called
"theives" and "plunderers".
found it when the U.S. Navy didn't try or
give a care enough to search for over 60 years!
The only theives and plunderers
are the state and federal governments. The
state of Florida illegally held Mel Fisher's Atochia treasure until a
federal court
made them give it back. Of course then the
federal government took a piece of it too since although it
was
not in state waters and the state was due
NO cut of it, it WAS in federal waters. So the feds got their
chunk for doing NOTHING!
Diver's risk their lives and fortunes in
recovering sunken treasures and artifacts and instead of it being
"finders, keepers"
which it should be, the state and federal
governments think we should get nothing for our efforts. In fact
recently the law
has been changed to disallow us to keep
ANYTHING found on Florida state submerged lands without a permit. Of
course
to get that permit you have to give the
state a piece of your treasure for them doing NOTHING. Our Navy also
takes from
divers. If you bring up ANYTHING from a
U.S. Navy wreck, plane or ship, they will charge you with theft of
gevernment property
and confiscate it, fine you, and even give
you jail time. Yet the Navy is allowed by our courts to have it both
ways. What I mean by
that is....the Navy says it NEVER
relenquishes ownership of its wrecks and therefore they still own them
and you cannot recover them.
The supreme court has upheld this. Yet in
court cases that fishermen have brought against the Navy for damage to
their fishing boats
from exposed parts of Navy ships sticking
out of the water, the Navy has successfully argued that the Navy
ABANDONED those ships
and the courts have sided with the Navy on
that as well! So if the Navy wants something you find and bring up, they
say they NEVER
abandon any of their wrecks, but if you sue
them for damage to your boat from one of their wrecks, they say the
ABANDONED it!
It is illogical that our courts let them
get away with this, but they do. Next is the state archaeologists who do
not want anyone but
themselves finding and recovering
artifacts. They argue that only THEY are qualified and the rest of us
are "amateurs", "theives" and
"plunders" unless we have an archaeological
diploma hanging on the wall and work as a state archaeologist. The truth
is they are jealous
of the finds found by the private sector
and want to stop anyone from operating but them so they can write books,
become famous, get
credit for ALL the finds, and most
importantly....get further grants. All the above disgusts me and reading
that Largato article just brought it home
again just how discriminated against divers
are. Wasn't the Hunley a war grave? They didn't hesitate to bring that
up. The jap minisub
recently found in Hawaii is the same thing,
yet there is a big political flap about it being a war grave and
shouldn't be brought up. It looks to me
like a submarine is a war grave when the
federal government or state wants it to be and it somehow becomes an
archaeological dig when they
want it to be! So in effect, there is no
law, just whatever the federal or state government or the Navy says and
makes up as they go along.
Sorry for the ranting, the injustice
of it all just really bothers me. If it was up to me, every sub ever
lost would be brought up and put in a museum
so they could be preserved to be seen by
future generations instead of being allowed to rot into iron oxide dust
which is what will happen to them if unrecovered.
We could bury any crew remains in the
ground with full military honors (like we did the Hunley crew) and then
call THAT a war grave.
Bill.