ISRA Region 12 - Central and South American Pacific region: A compendium of Important Shark and Ray Areas

The first Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) regional expert workshop was held in hybrid mode (in person and online) in Bogotá, Colombia from 3–7 October 2022. The goal was to identify and delineate three dimensional and discrete portions of habitat that are critical to the survival of sharks, rays, and chimaeras, and that have the potential to be managed for conservation. The region covered was the Central and South American Pacific, from the Gulf of California in Mexico to southern Chile. This scientific collaboration amongst regional and global experts resulted in the identification of 65 Important Shark and Ray Areas, 5 candidate ISRAs, and 11 Areas of Interest. Identified ISRAs range in size from small underwater areas of 1.59 km2 at depths of 1,650–1,700 m (Northern Galápagos Hydrothermal Vents ISRA) to large areas of 3,191,603 km2 (Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor ISRA) from surface waters to a depth of 1,928 m. This compendium provides an overview of all areas delineated.