• The committee has held a highly successful ‘underwater weekend’ for divers and and marine heritage enthusiasts. 
  
• The first stages of a systematic sidescan sonar survey were completed in the summer of 2000. 
  
• Plans are proceeding for the establishment of an artifical reef site as a priority for 2001. 
  
• Shoredive sites have been posted. 
  
• A successful Marine Archaeology Course has been held, with another planned for 2001. 
  
• A major wreck site, the famed "WEXFORD" of the Great Storm of 1913 has been discovered and surveyed by sidescan sonar. A licensed survey of the wreck site is underway under the direction of the Ontario Marine Archaeologist. 
  
• An agreement has been reached to collaborate with the Huron County Historical Society in the publication of a marine heritage document in 2001.
  
• A dive charter operation has been organized through work with a private sector provider, Macdonal Marine. 
  
• The infrastructure to support continued side scan sonar work has been established with the support of Maitland Valley Marina. A work tug has been made available on request.
  
• The local newspaper microfilm collection at the Goderich Public Library has been reviewed to isolate references to shipwrecks in the Goderich area. The findings include the earliest to the most recent dates and are published in this website as a consolidated wreck list.
  
• The Huron County Museum archive records for marine history continue to be reviewed to isolate reference material and exhibits related to shipwrecks and other marine history in the Goderich area.
  
• Area residents, who may provide insight into marine history, are being contacted. It is proposed to conduct and to videotape interviews to accumulate first hand, family, and third party information. Key components will be added to the data base as a permanent, well documented record. Many of the knowledgeable waterfront experts have already died - there is an urgency to complete this task before all such first hand knowledge is lost.

WHO STANDS TO GAIN?

Benefits will accrue to the broader community and to future generations rather than to those directly involved in the planning and execution of the project activities. 

Although the proposed undertakings will provide an interest outlet for hobbies or personal interests (eg. Diving, boating, heritage study, etc) the outcomes will accrue to the larger society in respect of heritage, culture, recreational, and, in the case of fish habitat, environmental gains.

The work of the Marine Heritage Committee will: 

• Make a permanent contribution to the understanding of our marine heritage.
  
• Provide archival material at protected underwater sites.
  
• Expand tourism in this community and in the County of Huron.
  
• Stimulate the economic development of the area in all areas wherein the private sector can profit from the identification of marine heritage sites, artificial dive sites and the creation of artificial reefs and fish habitat.