PORT ROYAL, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaicans have long suspected the waters off their southern coast are teeming with shipwrecks and sunken treasure from the days when the island was a haven for pirates. But they have always been happy to leave the mystery to the sea.

Now some islanders are angry to learn that their government has not only given an American treasure-salvage company permission to explore the area — called Pedro Banks — but also to keep half the bounty. They say all the artifacts — precious or not — are part of their history and belong in Jamaica.

"You're not just dealing with treasure here," said Ainsley Henriques, who resigned as director of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, the state agency overseeing the project, to protest the government's decision.

Admiralty Corp., which launched its expedition this week from Port Royal, a colonial-era pirate town once dubbed the "wickedest city on earth," has promised to conduct a proper archaeological recovery.

"We're not going to just go down there and tear everything up to get the gold," said Clarence Lott, vice president of the Atlanta-based company.

Pedro Banks, roughly the size of Jamaica itself, was a busy but treacherous shipping passage for European vessels headed to the New World between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Archaeologists estimate some 300 ships may have fallen victim to the passage, known to the Spanish as La Vibora — or The Viper — for its fang-like reef.

One of those ships was the Genovesa, a Spanish galleon that sank in 1730 with several tons of gold and silver on board. Its cargo is worth an estimated $600 million today.

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i'd be pretty mad too...that's dumb, only 50%

It would be one thing if they were turning over what they found to Jamaican Museums while being allowed to keep a percentage. But this is just giving people the right to loot your country..