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Profile

Position: Impacts Research Analyst
Department: Science & Standards 
Division: Science & Research


Profile

Research interests

Monitoring & Evaluation, impacts analysis, MSC conditions data, MSC stocks data, coral reef conservation. 

Samantha on ResearchGate

Samantha Lees is the Impacts Research Analyst for the MSC Science & Research team. Her role includes monitoring and evaluating the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the MSC program, in line with ISEAL requirements.

Samantha also collaborates with the team to produce research on the impacts of the MSC program, maintains important MSC data sets, and provides support for internal and external researchers seeking to use and understand those data sets.

In addition to her MSC research, Samantha also works as a consultant for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conducting ecosystem assessments under the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems tool.

Prior to joining the MSC, Samantha used meta-analysis and video data analysis techniques to investigate coral reef ecosystem health at Bangor University.

MSc (2018) in Marine Environmental Protection from Bangor University 

Thesis – "Video data analysis of coral community structure on the reef slopes of the atolls of the Chagos Archipelago" 

BSc (2017) in Marine Biology from Bangor University 

Thesis – "Can Marine Protected Areas adequately protect apex predators on coral reefs?" 

Recent research

Corrected numbers and assumptions for understanding MSC certified fishery withdrawals: Commentary on Pierucci et al.

Jun 2023  Marine Policy 

DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105683

Samantha Lees, Catherine Longo, Michael C. Melnychuk, Polly Burns, Beth Polidoro

 


Wild-caught fish populations targeted by MSC-certified fisheries have higher relative abundance than non-MSC populations

Sept 2022  Frontiers in Marine Science 9

DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2022.818772

Michael C. Melnychuk, Alessio Veneziano, Samantha Lees, Jennifer Rasal, Lauren M. Koerner, Peter Hair, David Costalago, Daniel Hively, Ernesto Jardim, Catherine Longo

Illuminating the mechanisms to mitigate forced and child labour risks within Marine Stewardship Council certified fisheries 

Sep 2022 ˑMarine Policy 143 

DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105140 

Charlotte Tindall, Oluyemisi Oloruntuyi, Samantha Lees, Catherine S. Longo, David Schley, Rohan J.C. Currey
A Perspective on the Role of Eco-Certification in Eliminating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 

Aug 2021  Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9 

DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.637228 

Catherine Longo, Leah Buckley, Stephanie D. Good, Taylor M. Gorham, Lauren Koerner, Samantha Lees, Shen Yan Liow, Oluyemisi Oloruntuyi, David Schley, Jake Rice, Rohan J. C. Currey

Meet more of the team