Etiquette of finding things underwater

[OHGoDive]

Ok, here is my question. If you are diving in a frequently visited spot and you find something that someone has obviously lost recently, say, like a dive knife, or a weight pak, etc. Something that obviously doesn't belong to anyone in the group you are diving with.

Do you leave it, in the hopes that the owner will have a chance to return for it? Or do you take it, even though you don't really have any hope of ever reuniting it with its rightful owner?

Is there an accepted etiquette here?

 

[Thalassamania]

Post it on ScubaBoard, the owner's got to be here.<G>

 

[kittyjg]

My suggestion would be, if it was a spot frequented by a lot of divers, retrieve it and call around to the shops in the area, letting them know you found something. If the dive spot has a shop on site, turn it in there.

 

[OHGoDive]

Yea, that makes sense if there's an obvious spot to drop it off. But, I guess I was thinking more of someplace, say, like the Duane in Key Largo. Every shop in town hits it over and over, and the time to contact each shop would be prohibitive.

It's probably not a big deal for insignificant/low replacement cost items, but, if it were something worth a reasonable amount, what do you do?

I guess I figured that I'd leave it with the captain that I was diving with, in the hopes that someone would start calling around if they lost something important. But, it occured to me that maybe it'd be best to just leave it and hope that the owner comes back.

Just wondered if there was any generally accepted rule.

(And Thal... you're right... this would definitely - by about 70000, right? - improve the odds of reuniting something with its owner )

 

[Walter]

Pick it up. If you can find the owner, return it, otherwise it's yours.

 

[james croft]

Walter is right. If you can ID the owner, get it to them for the nice fuzzy feeling you get. Divers should mark their expensive gear to ID it if lost or stolen. Note Serial nos. and keep it in a safe place is stolen. A laminated business card in a can light for example or with your Drivers license number and state engraved on it. The small stuff you can't ID is called treasure of the deep.

 

[ReefHound]

I would never just leave it there. The chances of the original owner returning and finding it are nil. It will either be picked up by another diver or lost to humanity. I'd pick it up and make a scubaboard posting in the Florida section. Many of the charter ops are there.

I might also post on Deco Stop, esp. if it was technical-related gear.

So... what did you find?

 

[Packhorse]

I engrave all my gear with my cell #.
Any thing I find I make a reasonable effort to find the owner.
But of all the things I found I have only found 1 owner. Weight belt from dive shop. And they expected me to drive accross to return it. I said you want it you come get it. They never did.

 

[divemaster_jim]

To me it depends,
1 if it was left on a training platform I'd leave it,
2 it it found on the in the mud I'd pick it up and start asking around when I surfaced,

 

[almitywife]

Pick it up. If you can find the owner, return it, otherwise it's yours.

kinda like love really isnt it....

yep, pick it up and post on your local forum otherwise take it home and use it in good health

i lost a knife once.. it was a wenoka and i was pretty sad about it. 18months later one of hubbys mates found it!!! still in perfect condition (gotta love wenoka) and i still have it almost 10yrs later (i just never remember to take it diving anymore)