Conserving Sharks in Belize

Guests will be met by a representative of our team at the Belize City airport and assisted with the transfer process and domestic flight check-in to Placencia, a coastal town set on a narrow peninsula between the Caribbean Sea and a sheltered lagoon in southern Belize. A pre-night hotel in Belize City is also available for guests arriving the day before the expedition begins. Upon arrival in Placencia, guests will meet the Field Guide and transfer to our hotel. After settling in, gather this evening for a welcome dinner and an introduction to the week ahead—how sharks use these waters, how fishing pressure shapes their populations and how this research works with local fishers to reduce catch while building the data used to manage Belize’s shark fisheries.

Leave the coast and head inland into the Maya Mountains, where Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary protects nearly 150 square miles of tropical forest, rivers and steep ridgelines. Established in 1986 as the world’s first jaguar reserve, it remains a vital stronghold for the species. The idea is simple but powerful: protect a top predator, and you protect the ecosystem around it. This model has helped shape modern shark conservation, where these animals are often called the “jaguars of the sea.”

Walk beneath a dense forest canopy alive with sound and motion. Howler monkeys call overhead. Toucans and motmots flash through the branches. Leafcutter ants move in steady lines across the trail. Streams run clear over rock and roots. Jaguars are rarely seen, but they are here; camera traps continue to capture their movement through the basin. An afternoon hike leads to a waterfall deep in the forest, where a shaded pool offers time to swim or rest before returning to the coast.

Back offshore, the Belize Barrier Reef is home to lemon sharks, nurse sharks, tiger sharks and Caribbean reef sharks. As top predators, they help keep the reef in balance. Like jaguars on land, their presence signals a healthy system. In Belize, scientists, fishers and fisheries managers work together to study shark populations inside and outside protected areas. Long-term surveys, combined with generations of local knowledge, help guide sustainable management and keep shark populations strong.

Just offshore, Belize’s barrier reef stretches more than 180 miles, forming one of the largest reef systems in the world. It is part of a connected coastal network, linked to seagrass beds and mangrove lagoons that serve as nursery habitat for juvenile fish and sharks and support the fisheries that sustain life along the coast. Explore it today to familiarize ourselves with our rich research site.

In the water, coral formations are alive with movement. Parrotfish graze along the reef while angelfish and wrasse slip through the structure. Schools of snapper shift and tighten together. Rays lift quietly from the sand, and along channels and drop-offs, nurse sharks and reef sharks are sometimes seen.

Later, time with local fishers offers a closer look at how their livelihoods are tied to these waters. Snapper, grouper and lobster are caught using handlines and traps, with fishing shaped by seasonal cycles and a steady path from boat to market. This is where the research comes into focus. Fishers and scientists now work side by side to monitor shark populations, using the same knowledge and techniques once used to catch them. That experience now helps generate data that informs how these waters are managed.

Belize’s coastal fisheries support shark species that move between reef, seagrass and nearshore waters—areas where fishing pressure has long been highest. These are the same grounds where longlines have been used for decades, and where this work tracks how shark populations are changing over time.

Work alongside scientists and local fishers leading this monitoring effort. By combining standardized surveys with local knowledge, the team is building a clear picture of shark abundance, distribution and movement in Belize’s coastal waters. Your participation in the research provides the vital third strand, incorporating western science, local and Indigenous knowledge and your participation into a more holistic, complementary system. Encounters may include blacktip, nurse and lemon sharks, among other coastal species. Some nights are active; others require patience.

Each afternoon, prepare gear and head out by small boat to set longlines in targeted areas. Lines are hauled after dark, following the same timing used in the fishery. Conditions vary—some evenings are calm, others shaped by wind and current. As sharks are brought alongside the boat, assist with measuring, tagging and recording each individual before release. Learn how repeated sampling builds the data used to assess populations and inform management.

This work is built in collaboration with local fishers, who apply their generational knowledge to locate sharks and carry out fieldwork—using that effort to collect data for fisheries management rather than catch. Time off the water may include reviewing data or preparing for the next outing.

This morning, transfer to Belize City for your onward flight home, leaving with a deeper understanding of how shark conservation takes shape here and a renewed appreciation for the research helping sustain Belize’s coastal fisheries.