Dr. Paul Johnston, curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, says the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute's (BUEI) collections policy appears to run counter to the intent of international standards.

Dr. Johnston, who was on the Island last week meeting with the National Trust and the Maritime Museum, says BUEI policies could damage Bermuda's underwater heritage by legitimising treasure-hunting.

His view was countered by BUEI vice-president Mr. Jack Lightbourn who said the institute would display lawfully collected Bermuda artifacts.

"As far as I'm concerned, anything collected under a properly issued licence in Bermuda which was reported as required and cleared properly are perfectly entitled to be exhibited,'' he said.

Dr. Johnston, who was interviewed on Monday, said he was particularly concerned that the views of renowned diver and BUEI trustee, Mr. Teddy Tucker, were guiding the Institute's collections policy.

Dr. Johnston referred to an article in a 1992 edition of Underwater USA magazine in which Mr. Tucker savaged marine archaeologists as pedants who do nothing to educate layman on the significance of shipwreck artifacts.

Mr. Tucker was quoted as saying: "These marine archaeologists want to control everything, and I've not met one yet who knows his (blank) from a hole in the wall.'' He said marine archaeologists "recover all this stuff and they won't show it to the public''.

Dr. Johnston said it appeared Mr. Tucker's views "may represent the official policy of the BUEI. There is some concern among the professional museum community as well as the archaeological community.'' Last week, Mr. Lightbourn said archaeologists want a closed shop for shipwrecks.

"They want to control everything,'' he said. "I don't subscribe to their view that shipwrecks need to be confined solely to archaeologists.

"In Bermuda, the people who understand the water and the things in it are laymen. Some people say we go into these wrecks willy nilly. That's not true.

Responsible individuals are quite capable of carrying these things out.'' Dr. Johnston said one way the BUEI could calm concerns would be to appoint a nautical archaeologist to its board of advisors. He said Bermuda's history has shown that "widespread disturbances of sites gives the public the impression that it's okay to take from dive sites''.