Herring are harbingers of spring. The first of them usually appear in Island waters now. But there is serious concern about the health of the fishery across the region.

Although Massachusetts is in the third year of a moratorium on the harvesting of these small fish, the fishery has failed to rebound. Fishing prohibitions are also in place in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Also known as alewives and river herring, these anadromous fish make a pilgrimage every spring into coastal estuaries, to spawn in the freshwater pond where they themselves were created.

The best time to catch fish during tomorrow morning’s trout tournament is early, at its beginning.

The 34th annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club’s trout tournament is free for youngsters 14 years of age and younger. As many as 200 youngsters are expected to show up to the shores of Duarte’s Pond, off Lambert’s Cove in West Tisbury.

The tournament starts early, before sunrise, and concludes at 10 a.m.

Class on Fly-Fishing

A fly-fishing class will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, August 9, at the Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club off Third street North in Edgartown.

Sandra Demel and John Kollett will provide individualized instruction. Equipment will be provided or feel free to use your own. The class size is limited. The fee is $85 for club members and $100 for non-members. For information and to preregister, call 508-693-6338.

The Island fishing season arrives in June. There are enthusiasts who will go out in April or May and catch some nice fish, but they are only preparing for what happens in June.

By ALEXANDER TROWBRIDGE

Overfishing may be the buzz word on the waterfront to explain the decline of many stocks of fish around Vineyard waters, but it isn’t heard often enough when it comes to explaining the loss of bait fish.

On Wednesday night at the Chilmark Public Library, a lone man stood before an audience of anglers and commercial fishermen to report the worst environmental tale needing to be told is the loss of one of the most valued forage fish in the ocean, which used to swim in abundance in these waters but is almost gone — menhaden.

The 22nd annual two-day monster shark tournament in Oak Bluffs ended Saturday with a total of 27 sharks caught and submitted, the largest of which was a 399-pound thresher. The team on the Waterbury caught the shark Friday, beating the other 200 boats in the tournament. Their prize was an $80,000 boat.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

The 27th annual John Havlicek Celebrity Fishing Tournament made a lot of money for the Genesis Fund last weekend, and not all the draw was the celebrities who attended. Much of it had to do with good fishing, and that success was tied to Vineyard and Nantucket fishermen.

With the final numbers still being worked out, the long weekend event on the Vineyard grossed at least $340,000, slightly more than last year. The gathering included a live and silent auction at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

The days this summer for eating locally caught fluke on the Vineyard are coming to a close.

Fluke, also called summer flounder, are a flat fish. Their fillets are white and tasty, and most come from Vineyard Sound. Since the start of the summer, fluke have been the catch of the day.

On Tuesday, the state closed the commercial season for landing fluke, based on projected estimates that the state quota had been met.

A painting of a well-known Menemsha-based trawler by Heather Neill has been given to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum by an anonymous donor. The eight by four-foot painting, titled Strider’s Surrender, evokes the decline the local fishing industry.

The Quitsa Strider II is owned by respected Island fishermen Jonathan Mayhew. In a move symbolic of the dire state of the local fishing industry, Mr. Mayhew sold his federal permits last year, giving up his license and putting up the vessel itself for sale.