Scuba Diving find treasure..?

Hey guys i am a scuba diver... i want to start taking my metel detector in the water... but i dont know any of the rules and regulations involving found treasure...





I meen under the water is it finders keepers?





does size matter? can i sell it? how do i sell it?





like i sure if i find a few coins or something thats cool





but what if i find somethign big? how do i claim it as mine? i jsut have no idea on the rules or regulations as far as that goes... and i cant seem to find anything online about it...





i hope you can help me out... i want to get out there and start looking it really interests me... but i dont want to find something to put in someone elses pocket if you know what i meen...





Thanks!!

Scuba Diving find treasure..?
Boy have you got your work cut out for you! Every area, country, state, and province has it's own laws. Everything in a preserve is off limits (by law). This will be enforced on a dive boat. I found a Chumash indian bowl once, and the crew had to escort me back to the exact location, and replace it, I went back the next day and it was gone. Who do think got it? This doesn't mean you'll get in trouble pulling an anchor. But you could!! Illegally moored craft lose salvage rights! TREASURE will be confiscated by somebody LOL. So loose lips sink ships. As a general rule small stuff like artifacts or a coin isn't going to draw much attention. But a large find should be handled discreetly. And don't let them know where it is until you've reached a contract with them. Even then you may have a battle on your hands! Good luck !
Reply:This is kind of complicated, actually. Lost items, isolated items, it's pretty safe to say 'finders keepers'. I have friends who have salvaged small anchors and other items off the beaches of southern california and in the channel islands.





Shipwrecks are another story altogether. Wrecks may still be owned by the insurance companies that carried insurance for them, or by the shipping companies themselves. They may be classified as historic and protected by law. In many cases nations consider shipwrecks within their territorial waters their own government property. Recovery of items from shipwrecks is usually a violation of some person's rights of salvage or of government laws on protected historic sites.





In some cases there are permit processes to go through in order to take items from the water. Check with your local dive community; talk with people working at dive stores and such to see what they know about your local dive sites and information about taking found items.
Reply:You have to file a claim for it. If it's in international waters and no other country has a claim then it's probably yours, but most countries want at least part of it if it's in their territory. There definitely are laws, but they depend on where you are.

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