BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation are creating four artificial reefs in Lake Borgne and the Mississippi Sound.

Spokesman Rene LeBreton says contractors have put down a total of 880 tons (800 metric tons) of limestone. Next, they'll set out 130 perforated concrete domes called reef balls. More than 80 cubic yards (61 cubic meters) of oyster shells will finish the work.

LeBreton said Tuesday in an email it should be complete this month.

The area's bottom is soft mud. The reefs will provide hard-bottom habitat where saltwater sport fish such as speckled trout, redfish and flounder are likely to hang out.

Oystering is barred from the reefs so oysters which settle there can serve as broodstock.

A large, yellow-lighted buoy marks each reef.

