The Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges are two sequential chains of submarine mountains of volcanic origin located in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean, jointly extending over 2,900 km. Designated as a Hope Spot by Mission Blue, these seafloor ridges are a long chain of tall seamounts and guyots that vary greatly in depth. The ridge area beyond national jurisdiction contains about 110 seamounts with summits at fishable depths down to 2000 m, representing 41% of the seamounts in the south-eastern Pacific. Currently, 226 species of benthic and benthopelagic invertebrates and 171 fish species of 64 genera are known to inhabit the 22 explored seamounts of the ridges and that is likely to be underestimated. The ecosystem supports an array of long-lived species such as deep water sharks, vertically migrant mesopelagic fishes such as swordfish and critically endangered species such as the leatherback turtle. World Wildlife Fund has led conservation initiatives in this area for years, and it has been noted as an ecologically or biologically significant area (EBSA) by the Convention on Biological Diversity, and as an important area by experts consulted by the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI) and Census of Marine Life on Seamounts (CENSEAM).
