State fisheries officials have warned Vineyard conch fishermen that if significant conservation measures aren’t taken soon, the Island’s biggest fishery will collapse and be difficult to restore. After meeting last Friday with the state officials, a number of local fishermen said the conch fishery is in serious trouble and the state can’t act fast enough.

The good news began in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, when 68 flapping fish were delivered to the Wampanoag Tribe’s hatchery in Aquinnah near the edge of Menemsha Pond. The adult winter flounder had just been caught earlier Tuesday by Greg Mayhew and his son, Todd, in the Menemsha fishing dragger Unicorn. The hatchery hopes to raise over 50,000 juvenile winter flounder this spring. Later in the year they’ll be released into Menemsha and Lagoon Ponds.

Atlantic sturgeon, an ancient fish that once swam in local waters and has since become scarce, has been listed by the federal government as an endangered species, setting in motion a long-term effort to restore the fish to previous levels.

Early this week David Damroth was strolling Zack’s Cliffs in Aquinnah and gazed across the gulf to Noman’s Land when he saw an eruption from the water a mile and a half out. It was a double spout, a trademark of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. For the next 45 minutes he watched as at least three animals romped about the surface.