Page 107 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

86 Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook, Second Edition
A great deal of consideration should be exercised when working with fishermen to ensure their cooperation for yourself or others in the future. The presence of divers on the site will disturb the fish and if excavation is undertaken on the wreck site it will destroy the fish habitat and thus remove the fishermen’s livelihood. Similarly, by reporting a site a fisherman may end up with loss of income, either from recovering material or from fishing. One simple solution, if excavation is undertaken, to ensure goodwill is to replace the wreck site at the end of the operation with some form of arti- ficial reef, for example, made of car tires. Then the fish will still be there and the fishing community may then be willing to reveal other sites.