............................“August 1^st, marked the second meeting to be held as an evaluation process for making the necessary revisions to the Submerged Cultural Resources (SCR) Action Plan. This plan was set forth by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the mid nineties for the “Management and protection of SCR’s.”

.....The meeting, at Key Colony Beach, began with a review of the events that had occurred and the comments that were made by those in attendance at the previous meeting in June. Also, a synopsis of public comments was addressed and discussed at this time. The two main priorities that were brought forward and agreed upon by all was:

.....1.) a full-time archeologist is a must on the Sanctuary’s staff, and

.....2.) the education program that the Sanctuary is currently using needs to be enhanced and continued on a larger scale.

.....At this point comments were made as to why the budget did not include a full-time archeologist in the management plan to begin with. Many agreed that the absence of a marine archaeologist in a program that was established to oversee the recovery of historical artifacts, was, at best, ludicrous.

.....Another comment made was why does NOAA require every commercial salvor that holds a permit to have an archeologist on staff when this Sanctuary does not have one of their own. With a Sanctuary staff archeologist this would not only avail them of the assistance and expertise on many shipwreck activities, but would also follow the advice that commercial salvors and others on the Sanctuary advisory board have given them for years.

.....With the second priority being education, we were encouraged to hear that the Sanctuary wishes to build and expand their current educational program. Some suggested using websites that are commonly visited by Keys tourists, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Tourist Development Council websites. Others considered taking presentations on the road and traveling to various schools and community workshops throughout the Keys. A group from Mel Fisher’s organization suggested that through their years of educational programs they might be of assistance to the Sanctuary staff and help to guide them in this direction. The growth of the educational aspect would in turn reach many more people and be of benefit to the tourism industry of the Keys, but also increase one’s knowledge and understanding of the many historical and cultural resources that are so abundant in the Florida Keys.

.....As the meeting progressed we were divided up into five working groups to tackle each one of the main activities within the SCR Action Plan. These activities being:

..........1.) SCR Protection and Management;
..........2.) Establish SCR Inventory;
..........3.) SCR Research and Education;
..........4.) Ensure Permit Compliance Through Enforcement;
..........5.) Ensure Interagency Cooperation.

.....Each groups’ task was to examine the individual parts of their assigned activity and make the revisions and changes determined by the group. Also if new sections needed to be implemented into the plan, this was the time to do so.

.....The first group dove into the complexity of editing the SCR protection and management activity. The main idea of this portion of the plan was to “develop and implement a program to protect and manage submerged culture resources consistent with the NMSA (National Marine Sanctuary Act) , the ASA (Abandoned Shipwreck Act) and Federal Archeological Program standards through regulations, permits, education, and research.” This is to say that without a Sanctuary permit you are out of luck and cannot legally recover shipwreck material within the Sanctuary’s boundaries.

.....Some of the major changes that were proposed by the group was to edit the section that states:

.....“No permits will be issued for salvage in sensitive areas that contain coral, seagrass, and other significant natural resources.”

.....The group decided a change should be made that would allow specific areas requiring excavation to recover “non-renewable” resources to be recovered. (historical or archaeological shipwreck artifacts). For example, shipwreck deposits that have been determined by their continued scatter pattern and/or electronic surveys. This, of course, is with the consideration that some form of mitigation be determined in those areas, if necessary, and where possible.

.....The second group worked on the activity of establishing an SCR inventory that would be compiled by an electronic database of site information that includes locations and specific site characteristics. The main issue here is that the Sanctuary staff had no formal method of inventory for this SCR database and that one needed to be created.

.....The second recommendation is that there needed to be a standardized format that would allow all of the collected information to be compiled in a systematic manner. Mel Fisher Enterprises has already developed such a database for its thousands of recovered artifacts and their representatives at the meeting offered to help NOAA in the creation of their own.

.....The group also pointed out that a new activity should be added that would create a volunteer database. This database would be used to encourage volunteers in the middle and lower keys that would than assist with the compilation of the SCR inventory. In relation to education, the group agreed that more public awareness projects needed to take place, therefore increasing volunteer participation.

.....Along the same lines, the third group took a closer look at the activity of SCR research and education. The main idea was that most of the plans outlined had been partially implemented and the goal was than to develop ways to enhance and expand the research education program and ideas to get the most out of the data that is collected. Some ideas were to take traveling exhibits on the road to reach all of the Keys, to design displays in public libraries, and power point presentations and workshops for the public. The next issue was now that the “shipwreck trail” had been established, what is the best way to get the word out and ways to attract more divers to the designated sites. Some suggestions were to advertise in local dive shops with posters and brochures and the possibility of creating “dive passports” that would be distributed to divers as an incentive for them to visit every wreck site on the trail.

.....The fourth group took the task of looking at the activity of ensuring permit compliance through enforcement. The main point here is that the guidelines that have been implemented by the Sanctuary with regard to permits, need to be followed and enforced. The Sanctuary states they will achieve this through intensive on-site patrols by authorized law enforcement officers. The main concern here is that an SCR educational program for law enforcement officers has yet to be developed. This is an essential part of the process of dealing with SCR’s. Officers also need to be educated on how to handle situations that may occur on the subject of SCR’s.

.....The fifth group, had the task of evaluating a way to ensure interagency cooperation. The historical shipwreck salvors have probably had the hardest time with this since the Sanctuary was designated. Originally, one of the mandates for the implementation of a Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys was to develop a way to protect Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH). The Sanctuary was to oversee and organize all other local, state and federal agencies that have an interest in UCH and produce a reasonably understandable application form that would lead to a permit for salvors to recover shipwreck artifacts. Before NOAA’s designation, salvors relied on the tried and true application of the Federal Admiralty Courts which was the only fair and equitable way marine salvage on historic shipwrecks was carried out.

.....The object of this ‘interagency cooperation’ was, of course, to simplify the process by which the salvors could continue to recover our UCH without having to go through an endless cadre of bureaucratic red tape.. However, this process has just recently been dealt a blow by, of all things, another foreign government. NOAA has now taken a turn from what seemed like their sincere interest in recovering our cultural heritage for the American people to one of- “Let’s give it back to Spain.” The salvors permits to recover artifacts from Spanish vessels in the Keys are now sent to Spain for their approval. Who would have ever expected that with all of our government agencies trying to write the rules, that our own country would allow another nation to come in and have their way with our cultural heritage.

.....It was agreed at the meeting that a flow chart be prepared to show the various ‘agencies’ involved in being able to secure a shipwreck salvage permit in the Florida Keys. This was taken under consideration and is being prepared for the next meeting. The prospect at this point, of Spain appearing on a U.S. agency flow chart, would appear rather ‘odd.’

.....The next meeting will occur in September. Here, a copy of the final draft of the action plan will be reviewed and discussed before making its way to the Governor, Secretary of State and Cabinet for finalization.