Gulf of Cádiz is located on the southwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain. It encompasses the Bay of Cádiz and the estuarine mouth of the Guadalquivir River. The area is characterised by broad sandy beaches, saltmarshes, mudflats, seagrass patches, estuaries, and rocky headlands, with a seabed composed of muddy and sandy substrates, ranging from fine silts in estuarine zones to medium and coarse sands along the open coast (Del Río et al. 2012). The coastal area harbours ecologically significant meadows of the seagrasses Zostera noltei, Z. marina, and Cymodocea nodosa, particularly within sheltered bays, estuarine margins, and lagoon systems (Ruiz et al. 2015). These meadows exhibit irregular morphology in shallow areas (<5 m), forming mosaics of seagrass patches interspersed with sandy and muddy channels, while at greater depths (5–20 m), they transition into more continuous, homogeneous meadows over fine sediment.

Gulf of Cádiz is influenced by water exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Strait of Gibraltar, experiencing a semidiurnal tidal regime, with a maximum tidal range of ~3 m, creating extensive intertidal zones (Sánchez-Román et al. 2018). River inflow is seasonal and concentrated around major estuaries, although freshwater submarine discharges from coastal aquifers also contribute to local salinity gradients, particularly in nearshore zones adjacent to dune systems and wetlands. Sea surface temperature ranges from 14°C in the boreal winter to 26°C in summer.

This area overlaps with the Gulf of Cádiz Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA; CBD 2025) and the Golfo de Cádiz, Guadalquivir Marshes, and Cádiz Bay Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs; KBA 2025a, 2025b, 2025c).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthic and pelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 30 m based on the bathymetry of the area.