Layers relate to: the components of Priority Marine Features (PMF), MPA Search features (Black guillemot or Large-scale features of functional significance used to underpin the selection of Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas (NC MPA)). Our knowledge about the marine environment, and about which locations should be recommended as MPAs, comes from a range of sources: from targeted surveys led by SNH, JNCC and Marine Scotland focussed on marine habitats and species relevant to Priority marine Features (PMF), survey work conducted by industry, volunteers recording information while enjoying the marine environment for recreation. Information varies from recent to much older. There are a number of different types of data which have been collected using a range of different methods. Data has been placed into a standardised structure to support its use. Depending on who collected them, and for which purpose, some data were in a format we could use immediately while other data needed to be processed before they were able to be used in the Scottish MPA project. The information has been collated in a computer database called GeMS (Geodatabase for Marine Habitats and Species adjacent to Scotland) and has underpinned much of the Scottish Marine Protected Areas process. These layers update and build upon mapping presented in Baxter et al., 2011. Scotland's Marine Atlas: Information for the national marine plan. Marine Scotland, Edinburgh. pp.191
