Large areas of Georges Bank (which lies in both the US and Canada) and the New England Shelf have been closed to fishing for 25 years in order to conserve and rebuild fishery stocks. These closures, along with an increased need to improve characterization of the seabed, have provided the opportunity to map the extent of gravel substrates that dominant parts of the region, study the effects of fishing gear on seabed substrates, and to document substrate recovery.