5. SHIPWRECKS ARE SOMETIMES DRAPED WITH "GHOST NETS"
Shipwrecks can snag nets of passing fishing boats. Many times, these "ghost nets" help to discover long lost wrecks.
In 1994, for example, the fishing boat Mistake threw down a trawling net on the Gulf of Mexico and it became ensnared on the Spanish warship El Cazador. It sank in 1783 full of silver coins and its final resting place remained a mystery until then when the crew of the Mystery began pulling up shiny bits of metal and rocks in the nets.
The recovered treasure included a large topaz stone and approximately 37,500 pounds of silver
6. SHIPWRECKS CAN BE DANGEROUS EVEN DECADES AFTER THEY SINK
Shipwrecks are abandoned vessels, and therefore are considered very a problematic type of marine debris. Even decades after a ship sinks, new dangers can arise as tanks holding supplies and fuel degrade.
When the tank barge Argo sank in Lake Erie in 1937, it was carrying about 100,000 gallons of crude oil and 100,000 gallons of benzol. When the ship was discovered in 2015, it turned into a large and complicated remediation project.
All divers to wreck sites should familiarize themselves with state and federal laws pertaining to shipwrecks before approaching a site.
--Old B-Runner
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