Annotations of species recorded on video by Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) during dives performed in the Faial-Pico Channel in the Azores archipelago, Portugal. Videos were recorded between 80 and 250 meters depth.

Black corals are antipatharian corals that occur from sublittoral to abyssal depths on hard, mixed and soft substrates. Under favourable conditions, some black coral species form dense stands known as black coral gardens which create habitat for a variety of associated species.

Annotations of benthic sessile and mobile species recorded on video by Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) during dives performed in the Condor seamount, located 10 nm SW of Faial Island, in the Azores archipelago, Portugal. Videos were recorded between 180 and 1100 meters depth.

Rhodoliths is a general term used to designate non-geniculate coralline red algae (Rhodophyta) that live unattached (Riosmena-Rodríguez, 2017). The term is used here to encompass (i) branched free-living coralline algae devoid of an evident nucleus, but also (ii) nucleated nodules where the biogenic calcium carbonate deposit around the core represents >50%, as well as (iii) “coated grains” where the core is larger than the algal carbonate component.

Dataset collating kelp occurrences (presences and absences) from surveys conducted across the Azores archipelago (NE Atlantic) using remotely operated vehicles, drop-down cameras, open and closed-circuit SCUBA diving, and fisheries by-catch information.

Circalittoral faunal turfs are animal-dominated shelf assemblages that are found on hard substrata between the lower limit of the infralittoral zone and the shelf edge. Benthic organisms generally form dense intricate mixes that may include tall alcyonarians, sponges, hydroids, scleractinians and gorgonians, as well as less prominent fauna such as encrusting sponges, bryozoans, ascidians, bivalves, solitary cup corals, serpulid worms and vermetid gastropods.

The dataset is comprised of; 1) 'VME habitats' which are records for which there is unequivocal evidence for a VME, e.g. ROV observations of a coral reef, 2) VME indicators which are records that suggest the presence of a VME with varying degrees of uncertainty. For VME indicators a weighting system of vulnerability and uncertainty is provided as part of the database to aid interpretation.