If you love the oceans you will love this news: State regulators in California just adopted a groundbreaking new policy that sets a new direction for forage fish.

These species and a host of other Pacific marine predators need to eat plenty of small fish to survive and thrive. In fact, to understand the well-being of an ocean ecosystem, one of the first steps is to measure the food supply upon which other larger species depend.

Small fish such as sardines and anchovies don't get much love. But these little fish provide essential food for all the marine life that we like to catch, eat or watch.

Giving river herring the protection they require and implementing appropriate management practices can ensure that populations of alewives and bluebacks, and the ecosystems they support, will remain healthy for generations.