Initially, much of the work carried out for the MPA data mining project involved populating MSS’ Nephrops survey database with all the data available from the recent UWTV surveys, i.e. those conducted from 2008 to 2010, inclusive. The database was developed with Microsoft Access and consists of twelve tables which can be broadly separated into those concerned with UWTV survey data and those containing trawl data (Figure 4). Relevant tables for this study included “Station info” which contains spatial information for each UWTV station and details on the occurrence of sea pens and other fauna and flora, and “PSA” which contains the results of the sediment analysis. Relationships are established between tables so that the database can be queried quickly and required data extracted. The Nephrops survey database was in its infancy at the time the data mining project was initiated and incorporation of (historical) data from earlier surveys continues as ‘work in progress' A second aspect of the work was to compare MSS’ ROCA abundance scale with the six point MNCR (Marine Nature Conservation Review) SACFOR (Super abundant, Abundant, Common, Frequent, Occasional, Rare) scale used by JNCC, to record the abundance or density of a variety of benthic flora and fauna. For the SCAFOR scale, different ranges of densities apply depending on the size of the organism. Please see the PDF report for additional details.