Recreational saltwater fishermen in Massachusetts likely will be required to have a fishing license beginning next year.

That word came from Paul Diodati, the director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, who came to the Island last week and spoke at the Chilmark Public Library.

Mr. Diodati was joined by John Pappalardo, chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council. The council oversees many fish stocks that swim in federal waters south and east of the Vineyard.

The time has come to write my annual piece on what to do with young critters, either feathered or furry, that you come across. Last weekend Prudy Whiting and I were walking on Hancock Beach and came across a young gray seal. At first we thought it was dead, but as we approached the youngster raised its head. We kept our distance and watched it for a while. The seal didn’t have any wounds or obvious problems except perhaps a gimpy left flipper. What to do?

A former commissioner of marine resources in the state of Maine recently told a gathering of Island fishermen that there is plenty they can do to regain control of the troubled fisheries in Massachusetts.

Robin Alden spoke at the Chilmark Public Library earlier this month about how fishermen need to come together on the local level and step forward as a concerned group.

“Even in a small community like this, I think it can work,” she said, though she added: “You are not going to win overnight.”

In the Armageddon movies, as glaciers roll over Manhattan and supermarkets vaporize from lethal microwaves, you never see a character like Russ Cohen, author of Plants I Have Known . . . And Eaten, leading groups of refugees through fields of sheep’s sorrel and chuckleberry to snack on nutritious greens.

But should we find ourselves in the midst of a disaster of similar magnitude, the bearded expert on wild food foraging, clad in cap, jeans and rubber Wellington boots, is just the guy you’d want as a buddy.