Spending time with Augustus (Gus) Ben David 2nd at the World of Reptiles is a learning experience from start to finish.

But it is in the snake room, in the basement of his home in Edgartown, surrounded by over a hundred feet of slithering reptiles locked in wooden cages, where Mr. Ben David is in his element.

On an open sea deck, with the rolling waves of Georges Bank a mere eight feet away, Jon Brodziak cuts, and with tweezers takes a bone from each of

Georges Bank is a huge underwater island - 20,000 square miles and as large as the state of Massachusetts - that lies just below the surface of the

The question of how cod stocks fell so low in the waters off New England is almost as perplexing as the question of how to bring about recovery.

The favorite reason - too much fishing pressure - is followed by other explanations, including changes in ocean temperature and degradation of the environment. Perhaps it is a combination of these things.

Pinpointing the cause or causes of plummeting cod stocks is key to their rejuvenation.

The old wooden sailboat up on blocks inside the shed at the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society in Edgartown doesn't look like much.

The white lapstrake boat, less than 20 feet in length, has not been in the water since it was brought to the society in December 1936 from Menemsha Creek. The paint has come off in many places. There is little chance she will ever float again.