Voters in Oak Bluffs and Tisbury this year will be asked to move forward on ambitious plans to expand each town’s sewer district, with a common goal of benefitting both local business and coastal ponds.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission is revising its 2007 water quality policy, with an eye toward stricter rules for developments that contribute nitrogen to saltwater ponds from wastewater.

As communities on the Island and across the region look to shellfish as a possible strategy to restore the health of coastal ponds, a study on the Cape provides numbers to back up their work.

The Vineyard Gazette’s series on coastal ponds was recognized with an award for outstanding journalism this week by the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Alex Elvin was the principal reporter on the series.

Rust tide is in the news again, reported recently in Long Island waters.

Drew’s Cove in Lake Tashmoo could become a no-anchor zone for the next three years to protect fragile eelgrass beds near the head of the saltwater estuary.