The 15 class Benthic-Optimised Marine Environment Classification (BOMEC). The BOMEC divides the benthic environment into ecosystem types. These are grouped into three inshore groups, three continental shelf groups, and nine deeper-water groups. Each group represents areas with similar environmental variables, such as depth, temperature, salinity, and suspended sediment. The classification system considers the distributions of eight benthic taxonomic groups: asteroids, bryozoans, benthic foraminiferans, octocorals, polychaetes, matrix-forming scleratinian corals, sponges, and benthic fish.