With help from the Monterey Harbor Office, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary staff returned the 12-foot, 3,000- to 4,000-pound iron admiralty-style anchor, which was made sometime between 1850 and 1900 and used on large sailing ships.
The anchor's age qualifies it as a historic resource protected under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. Marine archeologists advised the anchor be immediately returned to sea to prevent deteriorating.
The anchor had been snared in a purse seine net during a commercial fishing operation last month but was returned 30 feet deep into the sea on a sand bottom Thursday.
