Lowering the reef materials into the water to construct the reefs.

Lowering the reef materials into the water to construct the reefs.

Lowering the reef materials into the water to construct the reefs.

Lowering the reef materials into the water to construct

The crane bucket moves from the barge to the water.

Reef construction material on the barge.

The crane and barge used to construct the cobble reef. The crane was owned by Harbor Marine Corp.

The barge with reef construction materials on board.

The reef construction operation.

The reef construction operation.

Close ups of the reef construction materials.

The average size cobble used in construction of the reef was 8"-12" in diameter and/or 12"-18" diameter stone. The restoration project to construct "natural" reefs mimicked true natural reefs made of cobble. The density of lobsters on the newly constructed reefs is equal to or greater the natural reference areas.

A diver inspects the reefs to ensure they are created according to specification.

A diver inspects the reefs to ensure they are created according to specification.

Construction of the reef underway.

A suction sampling technique is used to determine settlement of lobsters on the reefs.

An adult, American lobster, Homarus americanus rests on the sea floor.

An American lobster, Homarus americanus at the site where cobble reefs were placed to provide habitat in Dutch Harbor.

A larval lobster in the water column.

A drawing of an American lobster.

An American lobster, Homarus americanus, seen among shell debris on the ocean bottom.

An all blue specimen of Homarus americanus. Some scientists attribute variations in shell colors to diet.

A close up of a microwire tag inserted into the ventral tail section of an early benthic stage lobster. Tags were used to identify lobsters placed on the reefs as part of the restoration work and associated research.

A close up of a microwire tag inserted into the ventral tail section of an early benthic stage lobster. Tags were used to identify lobsters placed on the reefs as part of the restoration work and associated research.

Juvenile lobsters were raised by University of Rhode Island researcher, Kathy Castro in individual "condo" units to prevent cannibalism. The cobble reefs were then seeded with the juvenile lobsters to determine if seeding would help to augment native populations.

Two juvenile lobsters, Homarus americanus, begin to attack one another.

An all blue juvenile specimen of Homarus americanus retreats after an attack.

A juvenile American lobster rests in its "condo". The baby lobsters were raised to be placed at the cobble reef sites in Dutch Harbor, RI.

Two baby American lobsters in a "condo" lock claws. American lobsters are cannibals and must be separated or they will kill and consume one another.

A baby lobster is measured before having a microwire tag injected into its carapace. The microwire tagged lobsters were placed on the cobble reefs and later collected to determine recruitment and mortality rates.

One of a series of images that shows the process of how researchers inject microwire tags into juvenile lobsters.

One of a series of images that shows the process of how researchers inject microwire tags into juvenile lobsters.

One of a series of images that shows the process of how researchers inject microwire tags into juvenile lobsters.

One of a series of images that shows the process of how researchers inject microwire tags into juvenile lobsters.

A baby lobster waving its claws after having a microwire tag injected into its carapace. The researchers handled all of the small lobsters with great care during and after the process of injecting the tags.

A baby American lobster perched on the finger of a scientist clearly illustrates the approximate size of the hatchery reared lobsters that were placed on the cobble reefs.

A University of Rhode Island researcher examines a juvenile American lobster prior to its release in the wild.

Two University of Rhode Island scientists examine American lobster juveniles before they are tagged and released onto the reefs located around Dutch Harbor.

Researchers at The University of Rhode Island prepare to release the condo reared juvenile lobsters onto the cobble reefs.

A University of Rhode Island scientist prepares to insert a microwire tag into a juvenile lobster.

Kathy Castro of the University of Rhode Island and John Catena of NOAA remove hatchery-reared American lobsters and place them into salt-water filled bags. The lobsters will then be transported to the cobble reefs in small batches and hand released onto the reefs. The process of raising, tagging and releasing the lobsters to study them was very time-consuming and labor intensive

Kathy Castro and John Catena examine the lobsters before diving to release them on the reefs.

John Catena and Kathy Castro place juvenile lobsters into bags to transport the lobsters onto the reefs.

John Catena of NOAA counts the number of lobsters in the bags before diving with the bag to hand release the lobsters onto the cobble reefs.

A bead of water drips from a bag of lobsters just before they are carried to the reefs by divers where they will be monitored to determine settlement and mortality rates.

A bag of juvenile lobsters just before they are transported to the cobble reefs by divers.

James Burgess, former director of the Restoration Center and Sally Yozell , former Deputy Assistant Secretary for NOAA, attend a ceremony to dedicate the lobster restoration projects.

A slide describing the purpose of the restoration at Sachuest Point Salt Marsh and the restoration partners.

A slide that outlines the objectives of the restoration work at Sachuest Point Salt Marsh.

A schematic that shows the restricted side of the marsh at Sachuest Point.