1. Members shall conduct themselves in a spirit of fairness and justice in dealings with Association Members, the public, and all constituencies that have an interest in the utilization of shipwrecks and all other underwater historical and cultural resources (hereafter referred to as "shipwrecks"). These interested parties include, but are not limited to salvors, archaeologists, sport divers, scientists, fishermen, museums and historians.

2. Members shall establish and maintain the highest professional standards while investigating, excavating, salvaging or otherwise utilizing shipwreck resources.

3. All members who undertake activities that affect the ultimate disposition of shipwrecks or the contents thereof, acknowledge that the public has a right to access the cultural, historical and archaeological knowledge derived from any shipwreck. It is the responsibility of the member who supervises the exploration of any shipwreck to ensure that the activity is undertaken in such a way that as much scientific, historical and archaeological data as practically possible is gleaned from the site. Furthermore, it is their responsibility to ensure that the knowledge is made available publicly in a timely manner through published means.

4. Members must make every effort to utilize the most current, accurate and efficient technologies to effect the archaeological fieldwork necessary in the exploration of historic shipwrecks. A qualified Project Archaeologist must be employed on any shipwreck excavation that is deemed to be archaeologically significant. The Project Archaeologist is to be included in all aspects of the planning and execution of the recovery operation, and should have reasonable supervisory control of excavation activities, artifact conservation and documentation.

5. Members shall not plan or execute the exploration, excavation or salvage of any historical shipwreck before making a thorough plan for the archaeological fieldwork, as well as accommodations for the ultimate conservation and disposition of all artifacts and objects recovered from the shipwreck.

6. Members agree to ensure that no artifacts of archaeological significance are recovered from a shipwreck unless funds are made available for their conservation, cataloging and storage.

7. Members agree to make archaeologically-significant artifacts from shipwrecks available to the scientific, archaeological and historical communities to study for a reasonable period of time after their recovery and conservation.

8. Members agree to hold out for sale only those artifacts that have been subjected to thorough study and investigation by the Project Archaeologist. Those items that are deemed to be of irreplaceable archaeological value, and which cannot be documented, photographed, molded or replicated in a manner that allows reasonable future study and analysis, should be either kept together in a permanent collection, or only disbursed so that the collection can be reconstituted in a manner which makes the artifacts available for study by legitimate researchers and scientists.

9. Members agree to abide by the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction in which they undertake operations. This includes, but is not limited to search, exploration, excavation, salvage, display or sale of artifacts.

10. Members, their employees and sub-contractors must be fit, by knowledge and experience, for the work they undertake. They must not endanger the interests of the Association, it's members or suppliers, nor anyone with a vested interest in the shipwreck resource by attempting to undertake projects for which they lack competent technical ability.