Description: Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H`) for benthic epifauna. The Shannon index is a popular diversity index in ecology taking into acount the number of species as well as the evenness of species (how close in numbers each species in an environment are). Epibenthic species were sampled with a 2-m beam trawl from 1998 to 2014. Beam trawl catches were sieved over 5-mm mesh size. 365 stations were sampled (usually24 per year, which were randomly distributed within 24 statistical rectangles of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)). Sampling did not take place in 2001 and 2002.