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These stunning images capture run-down oil rigs which have been transformed into beautiful reefs.

The 'Rigs-to-Reefs' program offers a breath-taking alternative to complete removal once a rig is no longer needed.

Previously oil companies either removed the rigs entirely or moved them to a foreign country where they would be stripped down.

Disused oil rigs are being capped and turned into vibrant reefs creating thriving environments for sea creatures to flourish

The 'Rigs-to-Reefs' program offers a breath-taking alternative to complete removal once a rig is no longer needed

But now they are being capped and turned into vibrant reefs creating thriving environments for sea creatures to flourish.

So far the program, devised in the 1980s, has had great success in the Gulf of Mexico.

Snapper Caine Delacy, a marine biologist, captured these images off Long Beach in California, USA.

The ecosystems found on California's oil and gas platforms offer many benefits to local fisheries, recreational divers and overall health of the oceans.

Fish including scallops making new habitats on the rigs, and right, juvenile jack mackerel circling around the old rig

Photographer Caine Delacy surrounded by juvenile jack mackerel by the rigs which are allowing fish to flourish

Previously oil companies either removed the rigs entirely or moved them to a foreign country where they would be stripped down

Caine, originally from Australia but now living in Boulder, Colorado, said: 'It was refreshing to see that much fish life.

'These structures are typically associated with pollution and catastrophic environmental impacts if they fail.

'But they also contribute towards balancing the ledger against our more direct impacts on the ocean.

'Overfishing and habitat destruction have had significant effects on the abundance of fish.

'These rigs provide a place for fish to grow, spawn and increase in abundance - they essentially act like man-made fish reserves.'