Monday, August 26, 2013

Various Reasons Why People Need To Preserve Florida Shipwrecks

By Celina Heath


Few things are nearly as challenging a window to peek through to study marine life underwater and the hidden past as the abandoned Florida shipwrecks sunken deep the ocean floor. Whether or not you are just scuba diving for a nice day away from work or going several hundred feet down performing critical research, these classrooms in sea provide sights and beauty few other places can compete with. Every downed ship has a wealth of history and information waiting to be discovered.

Many of these once famous ships were critical to Florida's emerging economy. Others believe it or not, were pirate ships that roamed the seas preying on weaker vessel for precious metals and live bodies to man their ships or sell into slavery. Some were ships that were out exploring and simply fell into the poor misfortune of bad weather. Some were war ships built by different countries over the years for different wars.

The ship's designs were varied as well. Some are great Spanish galleons built when hard wood was still plentiful all over Europe. Some are great steamboats that were built to move from one end of the world to another over water. Some were just smaller ocean fairing barges, meant to carry important items from one country to another.

All of these old ships have a wealth of different archaeological resources which cannot be found in other places. The various building designs could be studied and carefully documented for future generations of college students. Loading and trading cargo manifests as well as company permits issued by US states and foreign countries are also important historically.

Even though a lot of these old vessels are poached on by many unscrupulous people most are protected by maritime law. They are also protected by different Florida state laws. Some of the old Spanish fleet ships are further protected as being the sovereign property of the Spanish government.

Saving these sailing ships are an important step in saving keeping our marine ecology growing and thriving. After they have stabilized on the sea floor, they become a growing part of the environment. This ecosystem of growing marine life becomes a larger part of the ocean floor as it keeps growing larger with an abundance of ocean life sustaining it.

When various people dive down and swim through these marine ecosystems the kinds of life they see are as contrasting and beautiful as they will probably see any place else on earth. Fish, sea sponges, clams, crabs, sharks, octopi and lobsters thrive while living among these old relics of lore. Visiting these sites are educational and inspirational for the old and young alike.

This is a difficult responsibility to shoulder both short term and long term. It is important to know that more Florida shipwrecks are being saved every day though. With the help from activists, park services, local communities and academic communities the list of saved ships grow longer all the time. These ships contain a history that belongs to all of us and when they are gone they will be gone forever.




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