Treasure hunters cry foul - Law change would give state more of their finds
Arizona Coin Collector
On the story below, tax man has got to get his share!
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FROM:
http://staugustine.com/stories/102208/news_1022_001.shtml
Treasure hunters cry foul
Law change would give state more of their finds
By PETER GUINTA
peter....@staugustine.com
Posted: Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Updated: 11:59 PM on Wednesday, October 22, 2008
SOUTH PONTE VEDRA BEACH -- Picture a small boat's deck piled
with seaweed, shells and wet sand, but tucked among those
natural items bright metallic flashes are visible -- gold
coins and chains, a ruby-encrusted crucifix, loose emeralds,
an official Spanish state seal from the 17th century.
Awed, you kneel near it, barely breathing the word "treasure."
Now picture Florida authorities swooping alongside in a
speedboat to confiscate the entire pile, leaving nothing.
That's what happens to people who salvage state
"archaeological resources" without a permit.
Dozens of private salvage company owners from all over
Florida drove to the Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National
Estuarine Reserve on Tuesday to oppose restrictive new
state salvage regulations they feel are unfair.
The Division of Historical Resource wants to re-organize
the permit system and tighten requirements for more
archaeological supervision, among other proposals.
This was the last hearing to accept public input before
the rules are changed.
Right now, all salvage companies must work under a
contract with the state. About 18 firms have them. But
the state hasn't issued any new contracts for 15 years,
leaving some companies unable to stay solvent because
they cannot keep what they find.
The new rules disband the contract system and require
companies to get a permit. But the companies believe
that the state will drag its feet on issuing permits,
just like it did with contracts.
Doug Pope of Amelia Island summed up the common
belief: "The state's trying to put us out of business."
All the companies are aware that 90 percent of the
artifacts in state archives were found by private
companies, so they feel that the rules are especially
ironic and ungrateful.
James Sinclair, a maritime archaeologist with Sea Rex
Inc. of St. Augustine, said the state has worked with
private salvors "only grudgingly" and issued
"increasingly more difficult and onerous" rules and
regulations.
"One company discovered a 1700-era wreck and has
waited 10 years for a contract," Sinclair said.
"Institutions (like universities) are required to
produce none of the criteria (private companies
require). They often get their salvage permits in
15 days. In one case, the applicant got same-day
service."
And the state never asked the industry for input on
the new rules, he said.
Ryan Wheeler, chief of the Bureau of Archaeological
Research in Tallahassee, said the rules hadn't been
"substantially revised" since 1987, but the reason
no new contracts were issued is that "nobody has
found anything."
The number of permits issued will be from two to
15, state documents said.
With a contract, the salvors typically keep 80
percent of a find and give 20 percent to the state.
The Florida Museum in Tallahassee displays much of
the treasure found over the past 20 years, including
items from two Spanish galleons, the Nuestra Senora
de Atocha and the Santa Margarita, both sunk in a
storm Sept. 8, 1622, near Key West, and discovered
by Mel Fisher in 1985.
The haul: $450 million.
The salvors protested other rules in the somewhat
prickly hearing. John Brandon of Fort Pierce, a
40-year veteran of underwater salvage and one of
the Atocha workers, said the rule requiring a marine
archaeologist to be on board a search vessel at all
times is a burden that would make salvage so
expensive that no one could do it.
"This is not required," he said. "Most Florida wrecks
are widely scattered and in shallow water. An
archaeologist could be called when a find is made."
He also opposed a new rule that requires salvage
vessels to obtain a state "exploration" permit before
performing underwater radar or magnetic sweeps of an
area, even if no one goes into the water.
Bradley Williamson, president of operations for
International Marine Recovery, said some of the new
rules were vague.
"They leave a lot of stuff open to interpretation,"
he said.
Sinclair said that the new rules would have a
"profoundly negative effect on the industry and are
grossly unfair. It fosters unscrupulous (behavior)
and a great sense of injustice."
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