According to the settlement, FEMA must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act regarding the impacts of the NFIP, which currently subsidizes development in vital sea turtle habitat.
Researchers from the Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES) have reported on part of a scientific examination of deep coral ecosystems south of St Thomas and St John, an area known as the southeastern Puerto Rican Shelf.
The divers claim to have found other relics that fit the time period from when the ship sank — cannons, an anchor and other metal objects — but have yet to find anything that definitely identifies the ship as the USS Revenge — such as the ship's bell.
The ship will either be salvaged by the Navy, which has first rights to its shipwrecks, or it could possibly be salvaged privately and its artifacts put on display in a museum.
