Dredging

[cudamark]

Has anyone tried to use a dredge at the beach? I have a place where that might be the right tool to use. Is it legal in California? Other states?

 

[surfnturf]

I would love to, however, not enough money my best bet would’ve been to mailbox a boat!

 

[OBN]

Not legal here in the Chesapeake Bay. In the 80s there was a guy that used a dredge.. Long John.. Did fairly good but word has it regular hunters did as well, but this was when gold rings were plentiful. Now days a gas dredge on the water would be like dialing 911, noise travels far on the open water. I met Little John once and he even offered to sell me his dredge.. he did mention it takes two people to run and the one on top has to be trust worthy.

Interesting ...I hunt some of the same spot as they dredged and have done very good ... no one gets it all.

 

[cudamark]

This would on the ocean, not a bay.....although that would a thought too.....

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Anyone have an idea of a reasonable (ie not too expensive) dredge that 1 or 2 people can operate for depths of only 10-25 ft or so?
I'm a certified diver and had a business plan after retirement to dredge certain areas. Unfortunately, I developed pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in lungs) and can no longer dive. But the dream is still alive and hoping to have a work around for not being able to dive and to dredge highly productive areas.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

In Florida, it's not legal without a permit.

Within 3 nautical miles, it's Florida coastal waters, and you would need a permit from Florida's Department of Environmental Protection as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They will likely ask you a lot of pointed questions about why you are dredging. If it's over a reef (protected area) or right next to the beach, the answer will likely be no; if it's to salvage, the answer will also likely be no - you need a special permit to professionally salvage treasure in submerged areas, modern or otherwise.

That being said, it's a legal gray area, metal detectorists, YouTubers, etc. often go into the water to detect in non-leased areas and find modern and antique items. Technically illegal, but it is more like "unregulated" and "unenforced." The Florida artifact law exists likely so that the state can confiscate any finds they consider noteworthy after being recovered-- also to prevent wanton looting that was present in the Mel Fisher Era. Even if you are looking just for modern stuff, if you come across an artifact in submerged lands (below low-tide line) coincidentally, you are required to stop all operations and notify the state, and obtain a proper salvage license to continue. If it is an isolated find, the state will probably let you keep it; if it can be tied to an archaeological site, however, they probably won't. The beach is a mixed debris zone, so people have argued in the past that the coastal zone destroys archaeological provenance, not sure how that holds up today.

Enforcement is sporadic and infrequent, but you run a very high risk if you are dredging and doing it regularly. If you are simply diving with a metal detector in non-leased waters, no one will likely care unless you find artifacts, in which case, you would need to report them and obtain a proper license to continue in that spot. Also, nothing near national or state parks. Some of them allow certain beach and offshore activities, but certainly not inland, not without explicit permission from a park ranger. The state's interpretation of artifact is very broad (any man made object older than 50 years), but generally they only really care about Native American, Spanish, or early colonial stuff. That is my interpretation of the existing laws after a bit of research, feel free to amend or add on, if any other users with a better understanding come along.

 

[cudamark]

I would call what I would be doing...."prospecting for gold and silver" Not my fault if the only "nuggets" I find are in the shape of rings and other jewelry!

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

I would call what I would be doing...."prospecting for gold and silver" Not my fault if the only "nuggets" I find are in the shape of rings and other jewelry!

As long as it's not galleon material, or a Native American historical site, or something similar I doubt the state would care. They care far more about the environmental impact on reefs, etc. Like anything that would affect their beach re-nourishment. I would at least make sure you get approval from local officials, just in case the coast guard checks in on you. Enforcement is loose, but that doesn't mean they can't / won't get you if they want to.

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

In Florida, it's not legal without a permit.

Within 3 nautical miles, it's Florida coastal waters, and you would need a permit from Florida's Department of Environmental Protection as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They will likely ask you a lot of pointed questions about why you are dredging. If it's over a reef (protected area) or right next to the beach, the answer will likely be no; if it's to salvage, the answer will also likely be no - you need a special permit to professionally salvage treasure in submerged areas, modern or otherwise.

That being said, it's a legal gray area, metal detectorists, YouTubers, etc. often go into the water to detect in non-leased areas and find modern and antique items. Technically illegal, but it is more like "unregulated" and "unenforced." The Florida artifact law exists likely so that the state can confiscate any finds they consider noteworthy after being recovered-- also to prevent wanton looting that was present in the Mel Fisher Era. Even if you are looking just for modern stuff, if you come across an artifact in submerged lands (below low-tide line) coincidentally, you are required to stop all operations and notify the state, and obtain a proper salvage license to continue. If it is an isolated find, the state will probably let you keep it; if it can be tied to an archaeological site, however, they probably won't. The beach is a mixed debris zone, so people have argued in the past that the coastal zone destroys archaeological provenance, not sure how that holds up today.

Enforcement is sporadic and infrequent, but you run a very high risk if you are dredging and doing it regularly. If you are simply diving with a metal detector in non-leased waters, no one will likely care unless you find artifacts, in which case, you would need to report them and obtain a proper license to continue in that spot. Also, nothing near national or state parks. Some of them allow certain beach and offshore activities, but certainly not inland, not without explicit permission from a park ranger. The state's interpretation of artifact is very broad (any man made object older than 50 years), but generally they only really care about Native American, Spanish, or early colonial stuff. That is my interpretation of the existing laws after a bit of research, feel free to amend or add on, if any other users with a better understanding come along.

I'm actually referring to Ohio area not

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

I'm actually referring to Ohio areas not Florida (not sure what happen to comment above). Although I mostly metal detect Florida, in Ohio I can't reach what I want to reach but a dredge is a possibility.

 

[niffler]

There's a swimming spot in a river in eastern Idaho I'd love to dredge out. People have been jumping off a low waterfall for generations there. I dove there in 2019 but the current was too much for me, and also there was a dead rattlesnake on the bottom that kept swirling around me and freaking me out. There's about 2-3 feet of material to get to basalt bedrock and the area is probably only 15 x 15 feet total and variously 8-10 feet deep with a pretty strong current. I'll probably never get back over there but I drool over all the gold and silver that I'm certain is down there.