Discovery
In 1993–94, the crew of a fishing vessel off the coast of the Hoi An area of Vietnam began to find ceramics in their fishing nets when trawling in a particular spot (Bound 2000: V). The boat’s captain, Captain Trang, reportedly decided to fish exclusively for these pots after an antiques dealer in Hoi An bought his first yield ‘for a good price’ (Pope 2007: 37). Before long, other crews had noticed what was happening, and soon there were numerous fishing teams using their nets to harvest saleable pots: ‘Huge dishes, ornate dragon sculptures, and delicate vases were picked out of the nets and sold straight to the dealers’ (Pope 2007: 40).
More information: https://traffickingculture.org/encyclopedia/case-studies/hoi-an-shiwreck/