South American Atlantic and Inland Waters: A regional compendium of Important Shark and Ray Areas

​The eighth region targeted by the Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project covered the South American Atlantic (Region 5). Stemming from the joint regional workshop for the South American Atlantic and Inland Waters (Regions 5 and 13) in Montevideo, Uruguay from 13-17 January, 2025, this resulted in the delineation of 81 ISRAs, 2 candidate ISRAs, and 25 Areas of Interest for this region.

The seventh and eighth Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) regional expert workshops were held simultaneously, in hybrid mode (in person and online) in Montevideo, Uruguay from 13–17 January 2024. 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 (hereafter ‘sharks’), and that have the potential to be managed for conservation. The regions covered were South American Atlantic and Inland Waters.

​In addition to the nine person ISRA team coordinating the meeting, the workshop was attended by 17 experts. In-person and online participants coordinated proposals submitted by 192 contributors for the South American Atlantic region, and 36 contributors for the South American Inland Waters region. Representatives of each country proposed areas they considered critical for the survival of sharks. In many cases, experts had experience working in multiple countries across the region and/or had already been working collaboratively through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group (SSG) network of members or various regional initiatives (e.g., Wildlife Conservation Society [WCS]). 
This scientific collaboration amongst regional and global experts resulted in the following outcomes. For the South American Atlantic region, theidentification of 81 Important Shark and Ray Areas, two candidate ISRA, and 25 Areas of Interest. Identified ISRAs range in size from small areas of 0.27 km2 at depths of 0–42 m (Laje de Santos in Brazil) to large areas of 106,490 km2 (Plata Canyon System which spans waters of Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, and areas beyond national jurisdiction) from 0–1,792 m. For the South American Inland waters region, the identification of 21 Important Shark and Ray Areas and 14 Areas of Interest. Identified ISRAs range in size from small areas of 0.4 km2 at depths of 0–4 m (Agualasal-Catatumbo in Colombia) to large areas of 19,495 km2 (Amazon River Mouth in Brazil) from 0–50 m. 
Comprehensive workshop reports and compendiums, along with relevant materials related to the ISRA process, criteria, and regions, can be found at www.sharkrayareas.org

Cite as:

Download compendium

Watch the workshop video here: