MONTREAL — Showcasing Quebec’s maritime history is the very essence of the work carried out by underwater archaeologists, who must sometimes contend with legislation that is ill-suited to their work and a meagre budget to practise this “highly specialised and underdeveloped” discipline. “The call of the sea”: this is how Aimie Néron, an underwater archaeologist and professional diver, sums up her passion for the discipline. “There’s always been something mysterious about water,” she says in an interview. “People immediately think of pirate ships; they think of Spanish treasures of gold and silver,” she explains. ”But beyond monetary value, every artefact still tells us a story." Above all, underwater archaeology is far broader than simply discovering shipwrecks – an image often etched into the collective imagination when we talk about underwater exploration. In fact, underwater archaeology focuses on understanding the connection between ancient populations and water. This discipline can therefore cover coastal communities, as well as ancient forts or quays, explains Néron. Recently, she made a significant discovery in the St. Lawrence River off the coast of Contrecœur in the Montérégie region with her team from the Institute for Research in Maritime History and Underwater Archaeology (IRHMAS). Whilst carrying out preventive archaeological work in connection with the expansion of the Port of Montreal, they came across a fish trap, which is believed to be Quebec’s first prehistoric Indigenous underwater archaeological site. It is quite rare to find this type of artefact due to the winter and ice, which often destroy everything along the coast, the specialist points out. Different from land-based archaeology Whilst excavation and digging are necessary on land, it is very rare to do the same underwater, as wrecks or artefacts are generally found lying directly on the seabed. Underwater archaeologists do not systematically carry out excavations, nor do they recover all objects, unless it is necessary – for a museum project, for example. “If objects are removed, conservation work is automatically required, because any objects taken out of the water will deteriorate very quickly,” explains Néron, adding that conservation is ‘a very long and costly process.” Fortunately, there are now other ways of making this heritage accessible without moving anything. This is the case with the growth of recreational diving, which can offer tours and interpretation directly on site, and with the rise of technology. “We have very, very high-resolution cameras; we can now broadcast live from underwater. Sonar systems are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and accurate, so this allows us to bring these images back to the surface,” she adds. Despite the differences from terrestrial archaeology, there is no specialised programme in underwater archaeology in Canada. To get started in the discipline, Aimie Néron had to undertake a university degree in archaeology alongside training to obtain a professional diving certificate from the Institut maritime du Québec in Rimouski. Furthermore, apart from Parks Canada’s underwater archaeology team, founded in the 1960s, all groups carrying out underwater archaeology in Canada are run by volunteers. In total, there are only around twenty underwater archaeologists across Canada, according to Néron. For its part, the IRHMAS has a dual mandate. It is recognised as a not-for-profit organisation that organises conferences and training courses. It also provides professional expertise to companies by carrying out preventive archaeology and environmental studies before construction work. A call for a heritage inventory Despite Canada’s rich maritime history, the underwater archaeologist laments the lack of interest in heritage archaeological sites. “There is a reason why the public knows so little about this discipline: it has never fully developed,” she says. In addition to a lack of government funding, Ms Néron believes that legislation does not support the practice of underwater archaeology. “We have legislation in Quebec governing archaeology, with the Cultural Heritage Act and the Archaeological Research Regulations, but there is absolutely nothing in these laws that specifically addresses submerged cultural heritage, let alone the nuances associated with underwater archaeological research,” she states. Archaeologists must also contend with specific legislation governing professional diving. Néron also regrets that few underwater sites are listed as heritage sites. “It’s a real shame, actually, because if we carried out far more listings, we would have far more protective measures in place for these sites,’ she believes. All underwater sites will eventually deteriorate in the short or long term, particularly due to climate change, the archaeologist points out. She therefore advocates for the creation of an inventory of submerged cultural resources in order to preserve information and monitor the destruction of these sites. “As we have no baseline data on all these submerged cultural resources, we cannot quantify the impact this is having at all,” she argues. “We are quietly losing our heritage,” the archaeologist warns. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 9, 2026.
