The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s submerged cultural resources are unique, non-renewable remnants of the Key’s colorful maritime and submerged prehistoric past. Submerged cultural resources are defined as those "possessing historical, cultural, archaeological, or paleontological significance, including sites, structures, districts, and objects significantly associated with or representative of earlier people, cultures, and human activities and events" (15 CFR 922.2 (c)). The Sanctuary’s submerged cultural resources encompass a broad historical range from the European Colonial Period to the Modern Era. Because of the Keys’ strategic location on early European shipping routes, the area’s shipwrecks reflect the history of the entire period of discovery and colonization.

It is an integral part of the FKNMS mission to protect and preserve these resources for the public trust while still allowing for the private salvage of publicly owned historical resources. This is accomplished through a rigorous permit system which adheres to the Federal Archaeological Program guidelines. The guiding document for submerged cultural resource salvage in the FKNMS is the "Programmatic Agreement among The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and The State of Florida for Historical Resource Management in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary". A copy of this agreement may be viewed in its entirety on this web site. Management and protection of cultural resources in the Sanctuary is administered in accordance with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act (FKNMSPA), the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), the Abandoned Shipwreck Act (ASA), and the State of Florida regulations guiding the archaeological removal of these resources, provided that they do not conflict with the Federal Archaeological Program. Sanctuary Regulations do not terminate valid Federal admiralty rights to certain shipwrecks which were claimed, arrested, and diligently worked prior to the designation of the FKNMS by Congress on November 16, 1990.

Photo: Paul Caputo

The permit system which allows for the private sector and institutions such as universities to investigate submerged cultural resources in the FKNMS is a three-tiered system. The three types of permits which may be applied for through the FKNMS Upper Region Office at 305-852-7717 are the Survey and Inventory Permit (.pdf), the Research and Recovery Permit(.pdf), and the Deaccession/Transfer Permit. The Survey and Inventory Permit allows for a systematic survey of the site using remote sensing techniques. If limited test excavations are necessary to identify the site, an archaeologist must supervise the operation. A comprehensive Survey and Inventory Report must be completed within 30 days of the end of the permit deadline. Upon acceptance of the Survey and Inventory Report, a Research and Recovery Permit may be applied for. The Research and Recovery Permit allows for the removal of artifacts as specified in the permit. A Research and Recovery Report is required within 30 days of the expiration of the permit. Upon acceptance of the Research and Recovery Report a Deaccession/Transfer Permit may be applied for. The Deaccession/Transfer Permit allows for the transfer of ownership to the permitee of certain repetitive artifacts such as coins, gems, ingots, bullion, and pigs which will divulge no further historical information on the site.

Photo: Paul Caputo

The FKNMS has an extensive education and volunteer program in submerged cultural resources. Volunteers on the Submerged Resources Inventory Team have documented over 400 underwater historical sites in the Sanctuary. The three volume inventory entitled "Underwater Resources of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary" has been compiled by Mr. Chuck Hayes and is available in public libraries throughout the Florida Keys. The education team has also developed a historic Shipwreck Trail which highlights nine historic vessels which sunk in Sanctuary waters. Brochures and underwater site guides for each vessel have been distributed to area dive operators and are also available in three Sanctuary offices.

If you are out in Sanctuary waters and find what appears to be an artifact please leave it in-situ, i.e., on the bottom, as it is. This artifact may have the potential to divulge significant historical information on the site. Please contact the nearest Sanctuary office or the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission at 305-289-2320 about the artifact. Remember, it is against Federal law to in any way alter the seabed or to move, remove, injure or possess Sanctuary historical resources.