Conservation protocols — what we record and what we escalate.

The condition-tracking framework.

Every documented structural feature at the four sites is tracked against a five-point condition scale on every dive that visits it. The scale runs from "stable" (no observable change from prior reports) to "degrading" (clear visible deterioration) through three intermediate categories. The scale was developed with the Centre d'Études Alexandrines in 2018 and is consistent with the institutional record. The journal's reports include the condition rating in the standard report header; the running tally per feature is maintained in the journal's database and made available to the institutional teams quarterly.

Anchor-strike reporting.

Anchor strikes — where a moored vessel's anchor damages a known archaeological feature — are the single most common preventable damage cause at the Alexandria eastern harbour sites. Eleven anchor-strike incidents have been documented since 2017, all in the eastern harbour because the open-coast sites at Heracleion and Canopus are well outside ordinary mooring areas. The protocol requires every anchor-strike incident to be photographed during the dive on which it is discovered, the damaged feature catalogued in the running incident log, the Centre d'Études Alexandrines notified within twenty-four hours, and the Alexandria coastal authority's heritage liaison notified within seven days. The notification to the coastal authority typically results in the affected mooring being moved if practical; six of the eleven documented incidents have led to mooring relocations.

Dredging coordination.

The Alexandria eastern harbour requires periodic dredging to maintain navigation depth against gradual silt accumulation. Dredging operations are operationally incompatible with submerged archaeology and the journal's protocol with the Alexandria coastal authority requires the coastal authority to consult the Centre d'Études Alexandrines (as the academic institutional contact) before each dredging programme. The journal's role is documentary — we record the pre-dredging and post-dredging condition of all features within the affected dredging zone, and the Centre d'Études Alexandrines uses the documentation to confirm that the dredging operations have not damaged known features. Two dredging programmes have occurred since 2018 (in 2020 and 2023); both passed the post-operation review without identified damage.

Biological-growth monitoring.

Marine biological growth — primarily encrusting bryozoans, coralline algae and small molluscs — on the submerged stone features is both an archaeological concern (because heavy biological cover obscures inscriptional and decorative detail) and an ecological concern (because the encrusting communities are themselves part of the modern marine ecosystem and host invertebrate life). The journal's protocol balances the two concerns. Where biological growth obscures inscriptional or decorative detail, the journal documents the condition without removing the growth; physical removal of biological material is the institutional teams' prerogative under their conservation permits, not the journal's. Where the biological community itself is of ecological interest (we have documented two endemic invertebrates that appear specifically associated with the submerged structures), the journal records the ecological observation and forwards it to the Behaira Marine Heritage Foundation's biological-monitoring programme.

Institutional escalation procedure.

The journal escalates to institutional contacts in three documented scenarios. Scenario A — significant damage to a known feature. Anchor strikes, dredging damage, or unexplained mechanical damage that significantly degrades the feature. Escalation to the Centre d'Études Alexandrines within twenty-four hours and to the EAA's submerged-archaeology unit within seventy-two hours. Six such escalations have happened since 2018. Scenario B — observation of unauthorised diving activity. Where the journal's dive team observes diving activity at a restricted site by parties not known to be holders of a valid dive permit, the journal reports the observation to the Egyptian Coast Guard and to the EAA. Six such reports have been filed since 2017; in three cases the unauthorised divers were identified and the EAA took regulatory action. Scenario C — observation of previously undocumented material. Where the journal's dive team observes material apparently not in the institutional record, the observation is referred to the institutional dive coordinator with jurisdiction over the relevant survey grid; the institutional team decides whether and when to publish. Eleven such referrals have happened since 2016; three led to subsequent institutional publications with our observation credited.

The September 2025 revision.

The September 2025 protocol revision was the document's third major revision since publication. The 2025 update added the climate-change condition-tracking framework (the standardised sea-level and depth measurements at named features described in the 2025 season summary), tightened the anchor-strike reporting timing (from forty-eight hours to twenty-four hours for the institutional notification), and updated the biological-monitoring section to reflect the Behaira Foundation's new biological-monitoring programme launched in 2024. The next revision in September 2026 is expected to incorporate the joint conservation-protocols framework being developed with the Centre d'Études Alexandrines and the EAA submerged-archaeology unit.

The conservation protocols apply across the four site files: Heracleion, Pharos, Canopus and the eastern harbour. The methodology page sets out how protocol observations enter the published field reports. The dive team and equipment document covers the operational specifications.