The Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor covers a large area of the south-central Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. This area encompasses the exclusive economic zones of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Ecuador, along with part of northern Peru and extends seaward into international waters (i.e., Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction [ABNJ]). The area lies principally on the Cocos Plate and Nazca Plate and has an average regional depth of ~ 3,500 m. The shallower zones (0–200 m) are mostly found on the continental shelf of Central and South America. The area is structurally connected via: (1) the Cocos Ridge, that originates in the coast of Costa Rica and connects it with Cocos Island and the Galápagos Islands; (2) the Carnegie Ridge, that connects Galápagos with coastal Ecuador; and (3) the Coiba Ridge, that connects Coiba Island with Malpelo Island via the Yuruparí and Malpelo Ridges (Peñaherrera-Palma et al. 2018). Along these ridges there are several coastal and oceanic seamounts that host important aggregations of shark species (Cambra et al. 2021).

This area is located between two subtropical gyres (Kessler 2006), with the central region characterised by warm waters with annual average temperatures above 27.5°C. To the south, the Humboldt Current limits the tropical range of this area with cold, saline water that comes from the Antarctic and upwellings off the coasts of Peru and Chile. In the central part of the area, the Panama Current washes the Central American coasts and northern South America with warm, low-salinity water, that then spins toward the Equatorial zone (Amador et al. 2016).

Four upwelling processes are found within or at the extent of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor. These fuel exceptionally productive and distinctive ecosystems across the region: (1) the Humboldt Current brings nutrient rich cold waters from the coasts of Peru north-westwards and washes the southern limit of the area along the Equator year-round (Fiedler & Lavín 2017); (2) the Galápagos primary upwelling increases the primary productivity mainly to the west of Isabela and Fernandina Islands, and along with the Humboldt Current, boosts the productivity of the Equatorial Front towards the west along the Equator (Karnauskas at al. 2007); (3) the seasonal upwelling of the Panama Gulf increases the productivity of the Panama and Colombian coasts from January to April (Rodríguez-Rubio et al. 2007); and (4) the seasonal upwelling of the Costa Rica Thermal Dome increases the productivity off the Nicaraguan and Costa Rican coasts from January to April (Fiedler & Lavín 2017).

The confluence of marine surface currents (such as the Humboldt, Panama, and Equatorial Currents), in interaction with these four upwelling processes creates a unique oceanographic setting that favours several types of warm and cold-water habitats (Fiedler & Lavín 2017) and allows the area to host some of the most functionally diverse ecosystems in the world (Stuart-Smith et al. 2013).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to a depth of 1,928 m based on the maximum known depth range of the Qualifying Species.