The original aim of the survey was to give an overview of the shore life and physical features of the coastline within the former Cumbria Sea Fisheries Committee (CSFC) district. The 11 sites chosen were selected as being representative of the different rocky shore ecology types present on the Cumbrian coast. The sites are now surveyed annually in order to provide information on species and habitats present and to record any changes which may have occurred due to either natural changes or anthropogenic activity. These surveys began in 1993 and the data gathered has built up into an extremely valuable time series.