Page 56 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

 © Florida Bureau of Archaeo- logical Research. An information plate on the SS Copenhagen, Pompano Beach, Florida, United States.
Heritage trails, including heritage trails underwater, have become part of the tourism infrastructure in many countries.
The SS Copenhagen Underwater Archaeological Preserve near Pompano Beach in Florida be- came a State Preserve and Florida Heritage Site in 1994.
necessarily expensive. Indirect access has the added advantage of engaging the non-diving part of the public, a (very large) group that should not be forgotten.
Compatibility with protection and management
Not every site is equally suitable for public access. Rule 7 provides for an exception to the general rule. The exception is very broadly formulated: “except where such access is incompatible with protection and management”. Such exception should not become the rule. Admission should not be denied for the wrong reasons or for bureaucratic convenience. Limitations on access should be an exception, decided upon after due consideration. The specific reasons for such a decision must be made transparent for public benefit.
With some form of supervision and control, access is hardly ever incompatible with protection. Divers do not change the environment and need not touch and abrade. The challenge is therefore for management. Organizing an appropriate level of supervision and control is what matters. If that is in place, access is not incompatible with management either.
Involving diving operators
Providing leisure diving operators with a measure of responsibility and custodianship is an attractive option to solve the issue of supervision and control. Promoting preferential access may help to channel it without compromising site protection. To cope with the demand and encourage economic development,
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General Principles