SCUBA SEPTEMBER 2024 issue 148 | Page 48

ENVIRONMENT

Protect Our Seas

News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation

PHOTOS : NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION

Dynastic dish discovery

More than 900 items of porcelain and other artefacts have been recovered from two wrecks in the South China Sea . The wrecks were discovered in 2022 and are thought to date back to the Ming Dynasty ( 1368 to 1644 ). Excavations have been taking place ever since , using a submersible , the Shenhai Yongshi , to recover

items of pottery , porcelain , turtle carapaces and deer antlers . Guan Qiang , deputy head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration , said : “ The discovery provides evidence that Chinese ancestors developed , utilized and travelled to and from the South China Sea .” Commentators have argued the wrecks are being used for propaganda purposes , to justify territorial claims in the South China Sea

Cocaine sharks ?

The discovery of 25kg of cocaine underwater off Key West , Florida has prompted speculation about the potential effect on marine life . Due in part to its proximity to South America , Florida has acquired the status of a high intensity drug trafficking area . So much cocaine has been found in its waters that fears have

been raised that narcotics may enter food chain . “ If these cocaine bales are a point source of pollution , it ’ s very plausible that sharks and other marine creatures can be affected by this chemical ,” said Tracy Fanara , a Florida-based environmental engineer . As if to confirm such fears , in July unusually high levels of cocaine were reported in a sample of 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks fished off Rio de Janeiro .

Trapped in fishing gear

Dangerous seas threatened to capsize a rescue boat that came to the aid of a humpback whale ‘ anchored to the ocean floor ’ off the coast of New South Wales , Australia .

A rescue operation was put into effect by the Sea World Foundation in early July ,

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