Profile
Department: Science & Standards
Division: Science & Research
Research interests
Monitoring & Evaluation, impacts analysis, MSC conditions data, MSC stocks data, coral reef conservation.
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.
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
Jun 2023 Marine PolicyDOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105683
Samantha Lees, Catherine Longo, Michael C. Melnychuk, Polly Burns, Beth Polidoro
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
Dr. Beth Polidoro
Research Director
Jennifer Rasal
Senior Data Science Officer
Lauren Koerner
Climate Change Spatial Analyst
Dr. Katie Longo
Principal Scientist (Strategic Projects)