With the water still cold, John Hoy thinks a lot more alewives are coming.

On Tuesday, a group of town officials and biologists gathered at Lagoon Pond to install an underwater camera to monitor the pond’s herring population, which for many years has seen a long decline.

As part of a long-term grassroots effort, federal regulators recently passed legislation to protect dwindling Atlantic herring stocks.

The New England Fishery Management Council voted last week to limit both the scope and size of the commercial herring catch for the next three years.

Despite strict conservation measures, river herring are in deep trouble all along the Massachusetts coast including on the Vineyard.

James Pond was the place to be on Tuesday, as fishermen, town officials and others pulled on waders to help clear a channel for herring.