New legislation will be filed in the state house this month making way for a state recreational saltwater fishing license. State Representative Tim Madden said he plans to cosponsor the legislation and that is a good idea for all local fishermen.

“The federal government is mandating that there be a recreational saltwater license. This one, a state version is better, because it keeps the money here,” Mr. Madden said.

The decline of eelgrass on the Vineyard and along the eastern seaboard has been known and documented for many years. Eelgrass is key to the health of a coastal pond ecosystem, and its disappearance has had a significant impact on sea life, fish and shellfish.

But in at least one area of Katama Bay, eelgrass appears to be coming back — thanks to the breach at Norton Point Beach, biologists believe. And the news could have ramifications for other ponds around the Island.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Fewer fish were caught and released in the 18th annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club’s flyrod striped bass catch and release tournament last weekend than in the previous year’s contest. It may be the first time the number of fish caught and released was less than the number of anglers who entered the contest. There were a total of 146 striped bass and 193 flyfishermen.

Clouds of bees bounce off a kitchen window in Chilmark. In Edgartown they cling together by the thousands and form a small pillow on the top of a house. This is bee swarming season, and apiarist Neil Flynn of West Tisbury has his hands full.

May and June are the busiest times for bees, according to Mr. Flynn. The flowers are in bloom and many bee colonies are on the move.

James A. Tuck has traveled through the centuries on the Vineyard, not to mention in New York and Newfoundland.

Mr. Tuck, 68, is one of Canada’s top archaeologists; two weeks ago, he and his colleague Robert J. McGhee were honored by their peers at the Canadian Archaeological Association with the Gagnant du Prix Smith-Wintemberg Award. It is a prestigious award given only occasionally by the association.

A project to build an experimental blue mussel farm off the Vineyard has cleared a thorny bureaucratic hurdle and may begin as soon as a month from now.

Believed to be an innovative and key leg of a movement to revive the fishing industry here, the project has the backing of state, local and federal funds.

But a requirement for an archaeological survey at the deep water site was threatening to delay the project, and late last week Rick Karney, director of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, was hopping mad.