Can we take things from the ocean?
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I guess there should be a delicious exemption.
Just my .02, but I think a bright-line rule either way doesn't work universally. The old "take only pictures, leave only bubbles" shouldn't preclude someone from taking a Meg tooth, and being okay with taking a wine glass from the Doria doesn't mean it's okay to take stuff from a well-preserved deep wreck in Lake Superior. Spearfishing is okay, but taking live coral obviously isn't. War graves? Off-limits.
It just depends. A crumbling wreck that's going to be an unrecognizable pile of rubble in a few years? Have at it. Freshwater wreck that's been essentially unchanged in 100 years and will be around for other divers to enjoy for another 100 years? Leave it be.
Almost seems like...common sense.
It just depends. A crumbling wreck that's going to be an unrecognizable pile of rubble in a few years? Have at it. Freshwater wreck that's been essentially unchanged in 100 years and will be around for other divers to enjoy for another 100 years? Leave it be.
Almost seems like...common sense.
100days-a-year
Contributor
My lionfish take totals are in tons, that's a lot more effective than pretending my just being there isn't affecting anything.
The mere act of getting to site should be considered consumptive.
The mere act of getting to site should be considered consumptive.
You are welcome to take as many Humboldt squid from the sea that you can. The more the merrier.
liverocks
New
Did you get bit?......
One of my least favorite knowledge review questions is the first one in the wreck diving chapter of the PADI Advanced Open Water course.
The question asks the student to fill in two blanks to complete a sentence saying that taking artifacts from wrecks is discouraged because it makes sites less interesting.
I always point out to my students how the question overlooks a more basic point. The real reason we don't take stuff from wrecks is that it's not our stuff.
Growing up, each of my kids heard the following catechism dozens of times until it sank in:
"Is it yours?"
"No, sir."
"Did the owner say you could borrow it."
"No, sir."
"Then keep your hands off it."
"Yes, sir."
The question asks the student to fill in two blanks to complete a sentence saying that taking artifacts from wrecks is discouraged because it makes sites less interesting.
I always point out to my students how the question overlooks a more basic point. The real reason we don't take stuff from wrecks is that it's not our stuff.
Growing up, each of my kids heard the following catechism dozens of times until it sank in:
"Is it yours?"
"No, sir."
"Did the owner say you could borrow it."
"No, sir."
"Then keep your hands off it."
"Yes, sir."
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One simplistic but practical answer is, “Who cares who owns them? I know I don’t.”
The reality is more complicated. Some are owned or managed by marine parks, some by insurance companies that paid out claims after sinkings, some by the countries under whose flag they sailed, perhaps some others by countries in whose waters they lie. And it probably gets more complicated when you start asking who can obtain or grant rights or permissions to remove stuff, let alone keep it.
For my purposes, I’ll stick with the simplistic answer. It’s enough to know the stuff isn’t mine.
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