ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
Integrating marine conservation, scientific collaboration, and underwater heritage protection
Shipwrecks are not isolated artifacts frozen in time; they are part of living marine ecosystems and, in some cases, potential environmental hazards. Over decades, submerged wrecks become artificial reefs that support biodiversity, but they can also trap lost fishing gear or contain materials that threaten the marine environment.
SDSS approaches underwater cultural heritage with this dual reality in mind. Acting as eyes and hands underwater, we support environmental initiatives through direct fieldwork, site documentation, and responsible intervention. By working alongside specialist conservation partners, we help protect both historic shipwreck sites and the fragile ecosystems that have developed around them, ensuring that heritage preservation and marine conservation go hand in hand.
Why Environmental Work Matters to Underwater Heritage
Shipwrecks are both historical sites and thriving marine habitats. When abandoned fishing gear becomes trapped on them, ghost fishing continues for years, damaging marine life and accelerating the deterioration of fragile underwater heritage. Some wrecks also pose long-term pollution risks as hazardous materials slowly leak into the sea. Because of this, underwater documentation must go hand in hand with environmental responsibility. Effective management of submerged heritage means treating wrecks as both archaeological remains and living ecosystems.
Potentially Polluting Wrecks
Historic wrecks from past conflicts represent a growing marine pollution risk as their structures deteriorate and hazardous cargo begins to leak. In collaboration with Project Tangaroa, SDSS contributed to the Malta Manifesto, a global call to action addressing the toxic legacy of polluting wrecks. The manifesto urges governments, researchers, and civil society to implement coordinated assessment, monitoring, and proactive intervention.
This initiative promotes international cooperation, equitable responsibility, and science-led decision making to prevent future ecological disasters while respecting the cultural significance of historic wreck sites.
Learn more about Project Tangaroa: www.project-tangaroa.org
Removing Ghost Fishing Gear
Many submerged wrecks, including memorial sites and war graves, are not only important historical locations, but also extraordinary marine habitats. On sandy seabeds, a wreck becomes an artificial reef — a dense metropolis of biodiversity that attracts marine life.
Because of this concentration of life, wrecks are frequently targeted by intensive fishing activity. Nets often become trapped in the structures and are abandoned. These ghost nets continue to capture and kill marine animals for years, causing silent and unnecessary damage to fragile ecosystems.
For this reason, we dedicate part of every season to removing lost fishing gear from wreck sites. These operations protect marine life, reduce long-term environmental impact, and help preserve the integrity of underwater sites that serve as living reefs.
These missions are often carried out in collaboration with specialized environmental organizations such as Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving.
Collaborative Marine Research
Submerged heritage sites are also living research environments. SDSS collaborates with academic institutions, including the University of Palermo and the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, to support marine science, biodiversity studies, and ecological monitoring.
These partnerships treat shipwrecks as research platforms, expanding scientific understanding of how underwater cultural heritage interacts with marine ecosystems and contributes to marine biodiversity.
Exploration of Extraordinary Habitats
We conduct exploration of deep and extraordinary underwater habitats, reaching environments that remain largely undocumented and scientifically underrepresented. Through advanced diving operations, SDSS investigates ecologically significant sites located at substantial depths.
These complex environments — often fragile, remote, and technically demanding — require specialized expertise, precision, and respect. By documenting and studying these unique submerged landscapes, SDSS contributes to a deeper understanding of our shared maritime heritage and promotes their long-term protection.
Environmental stewardship is inseparable from underwater heritage protection. SDSS remains committed to partnerships that safeguard both the sea and the history it holds.
COLLABORATE WITH US
PARTNERS
