Shipwreck Salvage businesses in Florida

[dunsky1476]

I am a little confused about actually having a shipwreck salvage business. I believer there are maybe a dozen actual historic shipwreck salvage businesses in Florida, right? Not talking about a salvage business that recovers peoples' personal watercraft of course, how do you actually produce a profit if you have a salvage business?

I originally thought Mel Fisher had a monopoly over the S. Fl shipwreck treasure business, considering he has the leases of sites that yield the most treasure, but I believe there are more businesses than just Mel and Frogfoot's.

My question is,

a.how do you make any money when the "big" treasure producing wrecks you can't get near? (not talking about sub-contracting a site from Fisher)

b. Can anyone start a Shipwreck salvage business? If you discover a treasure carrying shipwreck that isn't leased by someone and isn't in a state aquatic preserve, following the State's salvage procedure, are you able to just get a boat and divers and go looking for it?

[Peg Leg]

All you need is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$ ; AND KNOW WHERE TO LOOK. This does not cover the Research that has to be done.
Good luck.
PEGLEG

[ScubaDude]

Dunsky, Hi and welcome to the forum. I will attempt to answer your questions without sounding like a smart &$$. There are a lot of treasure hunting companies in FL, and other states, probably dozens. The political climate of treasure hunting has been changing for a while now. It has become increasingly more difficult to get permits, and you also have an uneven playing field amongst the salvage groups. The litigation for salvage rights is becoming more complex. There are groups that are getting financial backing both from private investors, and publicly traded stocks. What some do with those funds is another story all together.

There are no real barriers to starting a "legal" salvage company. To be successful and generate a profit is the challenge. The biggest key is in conducting the proper research. Then there is the matter of assembling and properly equipping a good team to do the work. You've got to find the proper mix of talents that can all function smoothly as a whole on a tight budget. Once you've recovered the artifacts then you are presented with the challenge of properly conserving them, which in itself is quite expensive and time consuming.

You can make money in this business, but as Peg Leg suggested you need money to make it. You either have to do the proper research and spend long hours to locate a find. Or as some have done simply get lucky and find a good site and secure the proper permits and work the process in reverse. While it can be a rewarding pursuit, it can also be a trying one.

I hope this helps a little bit. If I can answer any more specific questions please don't hesitate to ask.

[dunsky1476]

How exactly do these companies generate a financial return? Is it mostly from auctioning off the finds? I am assuming it is a waste of time and money if the shipwreck you plan to locate was not carrying treasure?

[Peg Leg]

DUNSKY1476,
Hard to believe but I would say YES it would be a waste of time and money and you would not find many if any at all to invest to try and do any salvage work if the ship was not carrying anything of value but there may be artifacts that have some value other than gold and silver. My friend it would appear that you are starting on a shoe string. Are you a diver, do you have a boat but the questions is do you have a location in mind?
PEGLEG

[dunsky1476]

Yeah, I have a location and all. I was just wondering about the actual business of shipwreck salvage industry. In particular, how do the salvage businesses in Fl make a financial return that keeps them up and running?

[mad4wrecks]

A few of the companies are in it as a true business venture-to make money and/or increase shareholder value. Most of us have full time jobs and search for wrecks because we love history, mysteries and being underwater. Finding something valuable is icing on the cake. Not to sound corny, but the friendships I have made in this business are priceless.

-Tom-

[Peg Leg]

dunsky1476
I forgot to answere your MAIN QUESTION.
After dividing up what you recover with the State and the Investors you can do whatever you want with your share. If you have enough left over you can create your own websuite and offer your find on it-no different than Fisher and the rest do OR you can sell by auction through a major auction house like Sotharbys or Christies but these auctions are not the best place for silver coins as Fisher can tell you.
Gold and Jewelry goes very well here.
Do not forget that some items you may recover will take a very long time preserving like iron cannons.
Save what you want and sell the rest.
PEGLEG