Posted by Scott Napierkowski on March 09, 19100 at 20:38:09:
I've been away from this board for awhile so forgive me if I don't quite have all my facts straight on this issue. As I understand the situation at present, our friends across the pond (I live in Erie, Pennsylvania) are proposing legislation to curtail the activites of would-be wreck salvors and other unscrupulous characters bent on pillaging cultural resources for their own enjoyment. I've poured over the transcripts of this bill's second reading (thanks for posting the info, Dave & Annette) and I've read most of the other posts on this board in regard to this bill. First, a few questions:
1- Who the hell is this Jim Murphy from Port Dover and what's his REAL motive for sounding off to the opportunistic Mr. Barrett?
2- Who else has been hollering for legislation of this magnitude? Based on past experiences, it takes more than just one voice to prompt a lawmaker to draw up such a proposal.
3- Who is Gary Kozak to sound off on the subject of shipwreck preservation? If my memory serves me right, this is the guy who systematically ripped apart the hull of the Dean Richmond in an obsessive search for a "treasure" of dubious value. With all due respects to Gary's skills and experience, who can take his observations on this particular subject seriously? Maybe our wrecks lack importance in the grand scheme of underwater archaeology and maritime history but as sole-surviviors of the wooden sail and steamship age, they are extremely important when documenting the history of the Great Lakes region. This is what spending too much time with Clive Cussler and his band of Merrie Olde Hacks from NUMA will do.
4- How will this bill affect U.S. divers visiting Canadian waters?
5- What is the state of the bill at this time?
It is amusing to me that so many people seem to have been caught off guard with this proposal. Anyone who has taken a basic scuba course knows, thanks to dive instuctor "war stories" and dive shop window displays, that diving shipwrecks for the purpose of bringing stuff up is way cool. Impressions are formed right from the beginning, for crying out loud! I remember my instructor gleefully describing the trophys he'd retrieved from wrecks all over the Great Lakes - and this was during my basic scuba class 20 years ago! "Education, not legislation" is the key to preserving our cultural resorces. If we want to preserve our wrecks for future generations (as well we should), we need to start educating that generation today. Stop glorifying wreck-stripping in "how-to" books (Dan Berg immediately comes to mind), shop shelves & window displays, and macho dive stories aimed at new divers.
Of course that's just my opinion...I could be wrong.