ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a historical overview of the law of salvage, highlighting the extent to which the development of early salvage law was often incidental to the achievement of broader social aims. This adaptability of salvage law to address these outcomes partly explains assumptions that this system could simply be adjusted to address environmental protection outcomes. It demonstrates that the environmental dimension to salvage represents a significant departure from what was historically the core concern of salvage, namely, the rescue of property. The legal theoretical nature and definitions employed in salvage took shape within a commercial context, which coupled with its placement in Admiralty, resulted in a legal regulatory framework limited to services to property at sea, unconcerned with the environment.
