Environmentalists are re-establishing an oyster colony at Barnegat Bay in New Jersey.

"The goal of the colony is to help improve water quality in the struggling bay," reports the AP. "The shellfish naturally filter out pollutants and impurities."

"But there's another benefit as well: hardening the shoreline against devastating storms like Superstorm Sandy."

The American Littoral Society, a nonprofit group that protects coastline ecosystems, emptied bags of oyster shells on a newly created reef in the bay two weeks ago, beginning the last chapter of their oyster restoration project.

(WATCH the NJTV video below, or READ the AP story at SFGate) – Photos via NJTV video

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