- [Narrator] Beautiful Belize.

Abundant tropical rainforests, towering jungle mountains, and vivid coral reefs.

With nearly 36% of its land and 20% of its ocean territory safeguarded within protected reserves, this small developing country stands out as a world leader in conservation.

- We have had a long history of conservation, both from the terrestrial side and also from the marine side.

- [Narrator] Belize recently made a bold commitment to preserving its stunning offshore ecosystems for future generations with a pledge to extend marine protections to 30% by 2026.

This move marks more than four decades of sustainable management informed by science.

- [Demian] In the late '80s and '90s they established the world's first Jaguar reserve, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, that was based on research by several people, including Dr. Alan Rabinowitz.

- [Narrator] Using data collected from remote cameras and animal tagging, Panthera founder Alan Rabinowitz, a world expert on wildcats, inspired the Belizean government to protect its critical jaguar habitat in 1986.

Today, marine scientists are using similar methods to inform management decisions about critical shark habitat, effectively creating the Cockscomb of the Sea.

- [Demian] So we do all those same things here on the atolls, but for sharks, sort of the jaguars of the ocean.

- [Narrator] Shark populations here serve not only an essential ecological role in the reef system, but they are paramount to the country's tourism industry and national fisheries, requiring the government of Belize to strike a delicate balance between stakeholders.

- [Fisher] Conservation goes hand-in hand with the livelihood.

If you conserve something, it doesn't mean you cannot fish it.

It just means that you need to now operate in a more sustainable manner to ensure that you have this fishery for a very long time not just for you, but for your kids.

- [Narrator] In a pioneering collaboration, marine scientists and local fishers work together to collect data on shark abundance inside and outside of protected areas.

- [Researcher] 173.

- [Narrator] These long-term surveys provide the fisheries department with what they need to manage shark populations sustainably.

- [Researcher] The most efficient and most effective management plan that you can have is one where the people who actually use the resource, want to be involved, care about it, and want to protect it.

- [Researcher] Alright, tag number 836.

- [Narrator] More than 20 years in the making, these collaborative efforts to better understand shark behavior have already resulted in marine conservation successes.

How are scientists, fishers, and managers working together to build more sustainable fisheries in Belize?

And what does the future hold for local shark populations, the Jaguars of the Sea?