Seabed Habitats was one of seven themes of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) initiative, funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

Since its inception in 2009, EMODnet Seabed Habitats developed, improved and gradually increased the coverage of a broad-scale seabed habitat map for Europe's seabed, also known as EUSeaMap. In addition, EMODnet Seabed Habitats continued the work started by MESH and MESH Atlantic projects in collating and making available seabed habitat maps from surveys, through the EMODnet Seabed Habitats map viewer.

In it's third Phase (2017-2019), EMODnet Seabed Habitats collated and provided habitat point data and the outputs of habitat distribution modelling, and the third phase has now been extended to 2021. The extended third phase of the project will:

- Continue to grow Europe's only comprehensive library of habitat maps from surveys and collection of survey sample points

- Create new composite data products to add to those for the Essential Ocean Variable habitats and OSPAR threatened and/or declining habitats

- Update the EMODnet broad-scale seabed habitat map for Europe (EUSeaMap) using the next seabed substrate update from EMODnet Geology

- Update web content with extra resources for habitat mapping, including a catalogue highlighting all the most useful data products