Salvage Rights For Lake Erie?

we have a boat that we take out to lake erie periodically and we can recall a few small boats that went down around our cottage. is it legal to salvage wreckage on the bottom of the lake? it would be the U.S side. Would just grab the outboards unless its an aluminum hull

I assume there is actual salvage laws/permits around the great lakes. Around these parts we do "magnet" fishing with a rope and the biggest magnet you can pull but I have only done it one and just caught some washers.

as much as i can get out, junk or cash

Lawriter - ORC - 1506.33 Ownership of submerged abandoned property in Lake Erie.

http://nsglc.olemiss.edu/Advisory/Ohio%20Salvage.pdf

Originally Posted by lousypirate

Fyi- they make specific drag magnets. I thought about doing it during my stint in flint, mi. Only thing that sucks about that is you don't get any other metals.

yep, cannot snag an alum. boat or motor with a magnet, maybe a large grappling hook.

Ahh..this is why I love the ocean, unless you find gold, nobody cares about the rights..an all that legal talk..

Salvage rights...pffft.

( Yes yes I know this isn't true, but let me live in my bubble, tyvm)

Edit: Maybe something helpful in this wiki leak..(no it's not a typo, it's a p-u-n)..maybe not. Edit 2: Helps if I add the link huh? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_salvage#Plunder

Sirscrapalot - Anchor away..wait no, not there, I was going scrap that!

Salvage rights used to be pretty straightforward until that salvage company was forced in court to return millions in gold to some government recently. Sorry I don't remember what country, the amount, or the salvage company. I just remember it pi**ing me off when I heard it.

It is something I have always thought was cool. I know along the Oregon coast they have been having issues with clean up from the Tsunami in Japan. Things like 200 ft concrete docks washing up on shore. No one wants to pay for it to be removed. I heard they are being very lenient on the salvage. I would bet there could be opportunity in doing any salvage around water, both in scrap and in paid work. If you figure out all the laws you may even been able to get state contracts for clean up. I live in South Dakota now so I will never be a water scrapper or pirate

Thats actually kind of interesting. Here in MN, we got lakes that freeze, and idiots who drive on them when they aren't thick enough. There are stories of vehicles being left in lakes because of that long with who knows what. There was one a while back of a guy who was ice fishing when his truck went through the ice. When a recovery team went in with divers and pulled it out the owner looked at it afterwards saying, "Um, no that one's not mine. You pulled out the wrong one."

Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Salvage rights used to be pretty straightforward until that salvage company was forced in court to return millions in gold to some government recently. Sorry I don't remember what country, the amount, or the salvage company. I just remember it pi**ing me off when I heard it.

Here you go Burly,

In May 2007, Odyssey Marine Exploration undertook the Black Swan Project and recovered an estimated $500 million USD in silver and gold coins from a ship wreck in the Atlantic Ocean.[17] However, the wreck and its contents were claimed by the Spanish government.[18] A legal dispute through United States Federal Courts was resolved in February 2012, when it was reported that U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo had ordered Odyssey to return the coins to Spain by February 24, 2012 for dispersal to museums, not to heirs. The Supreme Court declined to stay this order and Odyssey has agreed to abide by the decision.[19]