And a true victory...

After four years of hearings, studies and legal battles, California has established a huge ``no-fishing zone'' along the West Coast of the United States in an effort to restore dozens of depleted ocean species -- from abalone to rockfish.

Score one for the fishies in the deep blue sea!!

The new rules took effect yesterday morning, declaring 175 square miles of state waters around the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara as a protected network of marine reserves.

The action is being hailed as a test case for future environmental ocean preserves.

Full story here.