Fishing and Shipwreck Heritage - (Debates in Archaeology) by Sean A Kingsley (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For 250 years encrusted wonders have been turning up in fishermen's nets: everything imaginable from prehistoric animal bones to priceless Roman statues. Fishing trawlers annually sweep an area equivalent in size to half the world's continental shelves. Everything in the wake of these bulldozers of the deep is battered. A devastating trail of smashed shipwrecks runs from the North Sea to Malaysia.

The profound threat of the global fishing industry remains a black hole in marine archaeology, poorly understood and unmanaged. Fishing and Shipwreck Heritage is the first global analysis of the threat of bottom fishing to underwater cultural heritage, examining the diversity, scale and implications on endangered finds and sites. Throughout, the key questions of whether it is too late to save the planet's three million wrecks and how sustainable management is achievable are debated.

Review Quotes

A well-considered and thorough piece of research on a problem that is hidden from sight (and the minds) of the majority of people. It provides a compelling argument for an urgent consideration of the effects of fishing upon our underwater cultural heritage, and will be of interest to those working in the fields of archaeology, maritime heritage and the marine environment.

Kingsley, an experienced marine archaeologist, director of Wreck Watch International, and frequent consultant for commercial and non-profit marine archaeological organizations, has a record of defending commercial and academic underwater archaeological activity against what he considers an excessive concern with in situ preservation ... This book will educate readers about this threat to our marine cultural heritage and encourage them to advocate proper protections.
The Classical Journal

Shipwrecks are widely regarded by archaeologists as invaluable "time capsules, +? preserving otherwise unobtainable data on aspects of the human past. In Fishing and Shipwreck Heritage, Sean Kingsley documents how the modern commercial fishing industry is ripping these precious capsules apart, spreading their contents far and wide and exposing them to total destruction. He also documents a conspiracy of silence among industries, governments, heritage authorities and nautical archaeologists themselves, allowing us to turn a blind eye to the destruction. Fishing and Shipwreck Heritage is a call to action that must not be ignored.

About the Author

Dr Sean Kingsley is a marine archaeologist and the Director of Wreck Watch Int., a London-based consultancy specializing in threats to global maritime heritage. He has written eleven books on deep-sea wrecks, ancient trade, economics, and Byzantine seafaring.