Ligurian Sea is located in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, along the Italian coastline of Liguria. The area sits on continental shelf, slope, and bathyal habitats. One of the most important geomorphological features is the presence of several deep underwater canyons, carving the sea floor perpendicularly to the coast. Offshore seamounts are also present in the area.

Cyclonic water circulations and vorticity in the area are caused by southerly wind stress that cause a coastal counter current in the Gulf of Genova leading to high productivity (Esposito & Manzella 1982). The oceanographic circulation is induced by the density gradients of three different water masses (Prieur et al. 2020). First, surface waters (0–200/300 m depth) are from the Modified Atlantic Water. The reunion of this water mass with waters raising along the eastern coast of Corsica, right in front of Genoa, creates the Ligurian-Provençal Current, which flows westward along the continental slope. It is present throughout the year and, more importantly, creates between coastal and offshore waters, a geostrophic permanent frontal zone, which is fundamental in terms of biological productivity. Second, intermediate waters (200/300–1,000 m), are from the Levantine Intermediate Water, and are denser, saltier, richer in nutrients and relatively warmer, than surface waters as they originate from the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. Third, the Mediterranean Deep Water (from 1,000 m to the bottom), is more homogenous, with an annual near-constant temperature around 12.5–13°C. Productivity of these waters is due to winter mixing, frontal zones, local ‘upwelling’ phenomena coupled with meso-scale vortices and the presence of complex structures of divergences/convergences. These phenomena, coupled with wind-induced water exchanges, makes the offshore area present a primary productivity higher than the coastal zone, especially within the frontal zone. This productivity is relatively high throughout the year, constituting a mesotrophic zone, opposite to the general oligotrophy of the Mediterranean Sea.

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 2,620 m based on the bathymetry of the area.