. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. recreation agent based on Roanoke Island. In a Sea Grant publication, Wreck Diving in North Carolina, Regan briefly describes the popular wrecks ac- cessible to the average diver. Some wrecks should not be approached, he says, because they lie in strong currents or waters over 110 feet deep— the limit for sport diving. Regan says new wrecks are being discovered almost every year by com- mercial fishermen and divers. Fisher- men locate them when their nets get caught in the wreckage or their catch is especi
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. recreation agent based on Roanoke Island. In a Sea Grant publication, Wreck Diving in North Carolina, Regan briefly describes the popular wrecks ac- cessible to the average diver. Some wrecks should not be approached, he says, because they lie in strong currents or waters over 110 feet deep— the limit for sport diving. Regan says new wrecks are being discovered almost every year by com- mercial fishermen and divers. Fisher- men locate them when their nets get caught in the wreckage or their catch is especially abundant over a particular area. On the other hand, divers will of- ten use old charts and military records to pinpoint areas where a vessel may have gone down and then search the bottom for the remains. Whatever the method, "every now and then someone stumbles across a new one," Regan says. But once a wreck is discovered, it is not always easy to find on the return trip. An experienced boat captain whose vessel is equipped with a Loran system for navigation and a sonic depth recorder is needed to find most wrecks. "Finding a wreck 20 to 30 miles offshore is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack," says Ron Thrower. "It's nice to look at a chart and say that's where the wreck is, but there aren't any signs when you get ; Several controversies have arisen about diving the wrecks off the North Carolina coast. One centers on whether divers should remove artifacts like brass portholes and gauges from the sunken vessels. Artifacts Some divers maintain that souvenir hunters and salvaging companies have destroyed the beauty of the wrecks and are hastening their deterioration. "After a while it begins to show," Thrower says. "Especially when people take dynamite and blow holes in the wreck. The ocean will eventually destroy any wreck, but people are help- ing speed up the process and every- body is ; Other
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