Chilean Humboldt Kelp Forest is located in the coastal region of Los Rios in south-central Chile, in the Southeast Pacific. Situated within the Humboldt Current Large Marine Ecosystem, this area is associated with kelp forests that exist across the Humboldt Current System (HCS) and is characterised by high productivity (Chavez et al. 2008). At the coastal edge of the HCS, where the kelp forests are found, upwelling, whether seasonal or constant, promotes high biological productivity (Montecino & Lange 2009). The HCS is affected by several spatial/temporal scales that goes from coastal trapped waves, inter-annual warming events (e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation), to multidecadal.

Kelp forests thrive on the rock substratum, attaining some of the highest rates of primary production of any natural ecosystem (Wernberg et al. 2019). Along the HCS, five kelp forest species are reported (Giant Kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, Calatillo Lessonia trabeculata, L. berteroana, L. spicata, Eisonia cokeri) in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zone (Thiel et al. 2007; Pérez-Araneda et al. 2020). In this area one kelp species is common (L. trabeculata) which is endemic to the HCS. The three-dimensional complexity promoted by the stipes, blades, and holdfast of the kelp species in the HCS offer diverse microhabitats (Carbajal et al. 2022) and provide protection against mechanical stress produced by waves and currents (Steneck et al. 2008).

The Important Shark and Ray Area is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 35 m depth based on the depth of the habitat.