Nature & Science
The fish are here — in force.
Striped bass, alewives (also known as herring), black sea bass and squid have arrived for an early start to the fishing season. Striped bass have been seen and caught in hot pursuit of herring swimming into local coastal ponds.
The state advisory commission that manages saltwater fisheries in our waters, under the Massachusetts State Division of Marine Fisheries, will hold a meeting Thursday, May 10, 11 a.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in the Tisbury Town Hall. It is rare for the commission to meet here — they meet nine times a year and almost always on the mainland. The director of the division, Paul Diodati, will also attend along with the commissioners and division staff.
Waters are swirling with juvenile winter flounder within the Wampanoag Tribe’s hatchery in Aquinnah.
Tens of thousands of tiny little fish, only a few weeks old, are the result of months of work. John Armstrong, hatchery project manager, said the babies are eating well and getting bigger.
For the first time in living memory, Wasque Point on Chappaquiddick, a famed spot where riptides attract thousands of saltwater fishermen each year, will be inaccessible for much of the summer. The reason is the ferocious erosion now eating away huge chunks of the southeastern corner of Chappaquiddick at a rapid rate. The once-wide sandy beach at Wasque Point has been replaced by 20 to 28-foot sheer cliffs, with truckloads of uprooted pine and oak trees stuck in the crashing surf at their base.
Say goodbye to Venus this month. The brightest planet, which sits high in the western sky after sunset, has attracted plenty of attention so far this year. The brilliant planet was the subject of a story last month about an Air Canada airline pilot who altered his flight pattern, thinking he was too close to another airplane. What he took to be another airplane was in fact Venus.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
April 27 61 52 .02
April 28 60 37 .00
April 29 56 42 .00
April 30 60 43 .00
May 1 57 45 .02
May 2 51 46 .81
May 3 56 47 .01
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 56º F.
Almanac
A comprehensive guide to weather and tides on the Island.
Vineyard Gardener
I guess this past week weather-wise is called a January thaw. We did not really experience it the last several years as December was unseasonably warm.
Farm & Field
Beige and brown and tan and black, with horns spiraled or semicircular or in undulating waves, a legion of goats marched up the hill toward us, bleating in anticipation of fresh grass and leaves.