Page 409 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

388 Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook, Second Edition
and in particular the gathering of statistical information. Later it became clear that there was a growing management use involved in the database, so that gradually more fields were introduced that related to management. In reality, most states now have their own database that is based on the core fields of the national database but includes fields relating to the internal management of the various departments administering the National Shipwrecks Program.
Currently, the field structure of the database can be divided into the fol- lowing general categories: historical, name, type, construction (iron, steel, wood, wood clinker, wood carvel, composite, Al); tonA; tonB; country built; port built; when built; port registered; official no.; registration no.; length; beam; draft; engine; crew; when lost; passengers; deaths; sunk code; sinking; port from; port to; cargo; master; owner; builder; industry primary, (lookup); industry secondary, (lookup); sources; geographical location, where lost, region, location box (LATMAX, LATMIN, LONMAX, LONMIN), GPS, state; administrative, comments, found (Y/N), inspected (Y/N), protected, (state, federal, other); protection notes; when found; found by (contact details); dates inspected; vulnerability; significance; and file number. Although this is not necessarily meant to be a general solution, the reader will get some idea of the potential for such a system.
Currently, the database can be used as a predictive tool for identifying wreck sites. For example, if a person reports a shipwreck at a particular geo- graphical coordinate and indicated its approximate size and construction material, then he can search for the unknown wrecks that lie within the location box specifying the construction and a size range. The location box will provide details of all wrecks within a variety of boxes. It will list all vessels in subregion, region, and the whole area (corresponding to descrip- tions such as lots in the Metropolitan Perth region, Central Western Aus- tralia, and the coast of Western Australia). It also enables the monitoring of sites, indicating when sites were last inspected.
E. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Education and training are dealt with together in this section, both forming an important element in the management plan. Education oper- ates at three different levels: staff education and professional training, which provides work-based programs to improve operational skills; train- ing for commercial-sector operators, who would benefit from an educa- tional program to assist them in providing a better service for their clients; and visitor education, for the diving and non-diving public.