The soft sediments are characterized by burrowing megafauna; this includes sea pens and commercially important species (e.g. Nephrops norvegicus), and also macrobenthos such as deposit-feeding polychaetes.
The coarser sediments are habitats for commercially important shellfish species, e.g. Pecten maximus and Aequipecten opercularis, and to sensitive species and habitats, e.g. maerl, brittle star beds, Modiolus modiolus beds, and Atrina fragilis.
The nearshore rocky habitats are characterized by algae and epifauna; however, some areas of rocky habitat in deep waters in the northern part of the region are characterized by hydroids, bryozoans, and cnidarians such as Eunicella verrucosa and Swiftia pallida.
