N.S. moves to end underwater treasure treks

By David Jackson

The Dexter government will ban treasure-hunting for profit at shipwrecks, saying the artifacts belong to all Nova Scotians.
Regulated treasure-hunting on Oak Island will continue.

The province first said in July that it would take those steps, and Natural Resources Minister John MacDonell introduced the legislation at Province House this afternoon.

MacDonell said the regulations banning treasure-hunting for commercial gain brings the province in line with other provinces, and reflects a United Nations convention on marine heritage preservation.

"The focus now will be on research and recovery of heritage following archeological best practices," MacDonell told reporters this afternoon.

Liberal MLA Andrew Younger, a diver, said he supports the legislation.

He said there's lots of stories about artifacts ending up in personal vaults in Europe, and noted the mouth of Halifax Harbour is littered with shells from the two world wars.

"Those things tend to be very popular for collectors of military relics and so forth," said Younger, the Dartmouth East MLA.

"Frankly, not only for safety reasons is it better to leave them where they are, but it's frankly better to have those artifacts as available to Nova Scotians and people who want to come to Nova Scotia as opposed to collectors and people who want to see them elsewhere."

Younger said the legislation could lead to more tourism opportunities with divers from elsewhere who want to see wrecks that haven't been combed over.

MacDonell said there are currently five treasure-hunting permits outstanding that will expire Dec. 31.

He said the province gets a 10-per cent royalty from treasure hunters' finds. He couldn't say how much the province has collected in royalties, but that it would be a small amount.

Liberal MLA Andrew Younger

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