A state representative from Northwest Michigan has proposed a bill that would allow for the creation of more scuba diving opportunities around the state.
Rep. Greg MacMaster, R-Kewadin, said he hopes to give lakeshore tourism a boost by making it easier to intentionally sink decommissioned ships or other structures for scuba divers to explore. Currently, Michigan’s law states that vessels can be intentionally sunk only within underwater preserves, MacMaster said. His proposed bill would create a permitting process where an interested party would apply for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Any ship or other vehicle that would be sunk would need to be cleaned in accordance to federal environmental standards for decomissioned vessels used as artificial reefs, according to the proposed bill. MacMaster said it also would need to be opened up to make it safe for divers. The location would need approval by the Lake Carriers’ Association to ensure it won’t interfere with shipping.
MacMaster said he first became interested in the idea of sinking a ship to draw scuba divers when he heard about a Canadian destroyer that was intentionally sunk five miles off the coast of San Diego, Calif. In the first year, tax revenues brought in by divers going to see the ship totaled $5 million. Every year after that, tax revenues have reached at least $3 million, and there are thousands of intentionally sunk vehicles around Texas and Florida.
“When you dive it, the structure is so large that you can’t see it in one or two dives,” MacMaster said.
In the meantime, divers are staying at hotels, eating at restaurants and visiting local shops.
“What we’re doing is we’re extending tourism beyond the water’s edge,” he said.
There currently are two intentionally sunk vessels in Lake Superior, one near Copper Harbor and another near Munising, MacMaster said. Both have had positive impacts for business owners in those communities.
Divers who come to see nearby shipwrecks have provided a boost to Rogers City’s economy, Steve Kroll said. He runs Great Lakes Divers, a dive shop and charter service in the city, and said his customers visit other local businesses while in town.
While the Alpena area has a wealth of wrecks for divers to choose from, other areas have little to offer, Kroll said.
“I don’t really see any harm in it,” he said, “It could be good for business as long as it’s in an approved location.”
Kroll wasn’t sure about sinking a boat within the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, saying he didn’t see much of a need for one there. However, any recreational diving structures added to the area might prompt people to take another look at what the area already has to offer, he said.
The bill also would allow for the sinking of objects other than ships, MacMaster said.
“I’ve been in talks in years past with folks from Alpena who said, ‘We only have 40 feet of water nearby, there’s no way we can sink a ship,'” he said. Another option would be using cement structures on the bottom of Thunder Bay or elsewhere to make a simulated cave dive.
Joe Sobczak, owner of dive shop Thunder Bay Scuba in Alpena, said he likes this idea.
“I’d love to be able to get a group of (large cement culverts) out at Rockport and do swim-throughs,” he said. “That’s one of the great things about diving, the feeling of weightlessness.”
However, Sobczak said he didn’t like the idea of sinking boats that have no ties to Michigan or the Great Lakes.
“I would rather see the sinking of ships used to preserve Great Lakes history, rather than bringing in aircraft carriers,” he said, adding that sinking a ship can be a good way to preserve it.
MacMaster’s bill will be considered in the Natural Resources, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee of the state House of Representatives, he said.
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Jordan Travis can be reached via email atjtravis@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688. |
