Treasure hunters cry foul                                     
                                                               
Law change would give state more of their finds               
                                                               
By PETER GUINTA                                               
peter.guinta@staugustine.com                                   
Publication Date: 10/22/08                                     
                                                               
                                                               
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."