International Environmental Agreements
Julia making a statement on the floor at the 3rd Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (MOS3) in Monaco (December 2018).
Julia first forayed into the world of international environmental agreements during her Masters’ thesis research on seahorse bycatch and trade with Project Seahorse (University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries) from 2012-2014. Her research characterized the global scale of seahorse bycatch (Lawson et al. 2017), which is largely fueled by international wildlife trade. Seahorses were the first marine fishes listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement aimed at ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
Following the completion of her Masters’ degree, Julia deepened her understanding of CITES and expanded her understanding to other international agreements, primarily the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
Julia took on the role of Programme Officer for the IUCN Shark Specialist Group (Co-chaired by Dr. Nicholas Dulvy and Dr. Colin Simpfendorfer) in 2015. As Programme Officer she led the development of two conservation strategies - the first for devil and manta rays (Lawson et al. 2017) and the second for angel sharks in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (Lawson et al. 2020). Her role also extended to several IUCN contributions, including contributing to the European Red List of Marine Fishes (Nieto et al. 2015; Fernandes et al. 2017), to the global assessments for Northeast Pacific chondrichthyans (Ebert et al. 2017), and to the global re-assessment for all chondrichthyans (Dulvy et al. 2021). Her time with the IUCN SSG culminated in Julia being a member of the official IUCN Delegation for CITES CoP17 in Johannesburg, South Africa (2016) where she was a presenter at a side event about the CMS Sharks MoU.
Julia’s interest in international environmental agreements continued as she embarked on her Ph.D. While at UCSB, she had the opportunity to take a series of courses in international relations, which deepened her understanding of these agreements and the challenges associated with compliance and measuring compliance. During her degree, she continued to collaborate with Shark Advocates International on legal compliance with CMS (Lawson & Fordham 2018), for which they were awarded a $122,100 grant from the Global Partnership for Sharks and Rays. This grant allowed Julia to participate in the CMS Conference of the Parties (CoP12) in the Philippines (2017), and to the CMS Sharks MOU 2nd Meeting of the Advisory Committee and the Conservation Working Group in Bonaire, Netherland Antilles (2017). Julia also contributed her knowledge as an Expert Reviewer for the FAO CITES and the Sea report (King et al. 2019), and shared her expertise by attending CMS CoP13 in 2020 on behalf of Shark Advocates International.
Examining thresher sharks for sale at a fish market in the Middle East (2015).
Current Research: Substantial gains and little downside from farming of Totoaba macdonaldi in the Gulf of California.
This project explores the potential for conservation farming to undercut poaching for totoaba swim bladders in the Gulf of California. Illegal trade, dominated by a Mexican monopolist cartel, has continued unabated despite half a century of prohibitions on international trade and domestic fishing. We investigate if farming can reduce poaching and support a healthy wild population by extending a flexible bioeconomic model of a three-stage illegal supply chain. This project began as a Bren Group Project where Julia contributed as a co-advisor. (Photo Credit: NOAA Fisheries.)
Relevant peer-reviewed publications.
• Lawson JM, Jean S, Steinkruger A, Castellanos-Rico M, Goto GM, Cisneros-Mata MA, Aceves-Bueno E, Warham MW, Sachs AM, Gaines SD. Substantial gains and little downside from farming of Totoaba macdonaldi. [In Review]
• Lawson JM, Pollom RA, Gordon CA, Barker J, Meyers EKM, Zidowitz H, Ellis JR, Bartoli A, Morey G, Fowler SL, Alvarado DJ, Fordham S, Sharp R, Hood AR, Dulvy NK. 2020. Extinction risk and conservation of critically endangered angel sharks in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 77(1):12-29. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsz222
• Ebert DA, Bigman JS, Lawson JM. Biodiversity and Conservation of Northeast Pacific Chondrichthyans. 2017. In: Northeast Pacific Shark Biology, Research, and Conservation. [Editors: Larson S, Lowry D]. Advances in Marine Biology 77: 9-78. doi: 10.1016/bs.amb.2017.07.001
• Fernandes PG, Ralph GM, Nieto A, Garcia Criado M, Vasilakopoulos P, Maravelias CD, Cook RM, Pollom RA, Kovacic M, Pollard D, Farrell ED, Florin A-B, Polidoro BA, Lawson JM, et al. 2017. Coherent assessments of Europe’s marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss. Nature Ecology & Evolution Article Number 0170. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0170
• Lawson JM, Fordham SV, O’Malley MP, Davidson LNK, Walls RHL, Heupel MR, Stevens G, Fernando D, Budziak A, Simpfendorfer CA, Ender I, Francis MP, Notarbartolo di Sciara G, Dulvy NK. 2017. Sympathy for the devil: a conservation strategy for devil and manta rays. PeerJ 5:e3027. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3027 ** Official PeerJ Top 5 Most Viewed Article in the Subject Areas of Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science, Conservation Biology, Marine Biology, Natural Resource Management, and Science Policy published in 2017 with 5,911 views. ***
• Lawson JM, Foster SJ, Vincent ACJ. 2017. Low bycatch rates add up to big numbers for a genus of small fishes. Fisheries 42(1): 19-33. doi: 10.1080/03632415.2017.1259944
Relevant Technical Reports and Book Chapters.
• Fordham, S., Hood, A., Arnold, S., Kachelriess D, Lawson JM. 2023. Bridging the Gaps that Hinder Shark Conservation: An analysis of ICCAT Parties’ policies for CITES-listed Atlantic elasmobranchs. The Shark League. London. 52 pp. [PDF here]
• Oldfield T, Mosig Reidl P, Blömer N, Woolloff A, Tallowin O, Stoppoloni R, Grove M, Lawson JM, Oldfield S, Broad S, Jenkins M. 2022. IUCN/TRAFFIC Analyses of the Proposals to Amend the CITES Appendices at the 19th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties. Prepared by IUCN Global Species Programme and TRAFFIC for the Nineteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES. IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland. 401 pp. [PDF here]
• Fordham SV, Lawson JM, Koubrak O, Cronin, MR. 2022. Chapter 23: Elasmobranch Conservation Policy: Progress and Priorities. In: Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives 3rd Edition, J Carrier, CA Simpfendorfer, MR Heithaus, KE Yopak (Eds.). CRC Marine Biology Series, CRC Press. 840 pp. [Order here]
• Lawson JM, Fordham SV. 2018. Sharks ahead: Realizing the Potential of the Convention on Migratory Species to Conserve Elasmobranchs. Shark Advocates International, The Ocean Foundation, Washington DC. 76 pp. [PDF here]
• Barker J, Bartoli A, Clark M, Dulvy N, Gordon C, Hood A, Jimenez Alvarado D, Lawson JM, Meyers E. 2016. Angelshark Action Plan for the Canary Islands. Zoological Society of London Technical Publication. 28 pp. [PDF here]
• Nieto A, Ralph GM, Comeros-Raynal MT, et al. 2015. European Red List of Marine Fishes. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Species Programme, European Regional Office. Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union. 72 pp. [PDF here]
Relevant Presentations.
• Hood A, Fordham SV, Lawson JM. 2018. Realizing the potential of the Convention on Migratory Species to conserve elasmobranchs: Part of the Saving Sawfish and Angelsharks Side Event. 3rd Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks. 10-14 Dec 2018. Monte Carlo, Monaco.
• Lawson JM., Polti, S., Fordham, S. Making CMS Work for Sharks: Part of the Spotlight on Mako Sharks Side Event. 12th Meeting of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Conference of the Parties (CoP12). 24 Oct 2017. Manila, Philippines.
• Lawson JM. 2016. Species Conservation Planning for Flatsharks. The 20th European Elasmobranch Association Conference. 28-30 Oct 2016. Bristol, United Kingdom.
• Lawson JM. 2016. Links between the CMS Sharks MoU and the IUCN SSG Conservation Planning Process: Part of the Assisting Countries with the Conservation of Migratory Sharks Side Event. The 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP17), Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (CMS Sharks MOU). 3 Oct 2016. Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Lawson JM. 2016. Species Conservation Planning for Flatsharks. Species Pavilion: Marine Species Conservation Session. 1-10 Sep 2016. Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA.
• Lawson JM. 2016. Species Conservation Planning for Flatsharks. American Elasmobranch Society. 7-11 Jul 2016. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
• Lawson JM. 2016. IUCN Red List Reassessment of North East Pacific Endemic Species. 18-19 Mar 2016. Catalina Island, California, USA.
Relevant Awards & Grants.
• Schmidt Family Foundation Research Accelerator Award. A bioeconomic solution to assess the potential effects of aquaculture for Totoaba macdonaldi in the Gulf of California. Awarded by The Schmidt Family Foundation ($8,000), 2023.
• Global Partnership for Sharks and Rays. Enhancing Elasmobranch Conservation Through the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Managed by The Ocean Foundation ($122,100), 2017-2018.
Relevant Professional Appointments.
• NGO Observer. 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13). Ahmedabad, India. 17-22 Feb 2020.
• NGO Observer. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 3rd Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks. Monte Carlo, Monaco. 10 – 14 Dec 2018.
• NGO Observer. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks 2nd Meeting of the Advisory Committee and the 2nd Workshop of the Conservation Working Group. Bonaire, Netherland Antilles. 20 – 24 Nov 2017.
• NGO Observer. 12th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP12). Manila, the Philippines. 23 – 28 Oct 2017.
• Invited Expert. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks Conservation Working Group Meeting (CMS Sharks MOU CWG). Bristol, United Kingdom. Oct 31-Nov 1, 2016.
• IUCN Delegation. 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Floria (CITES CoP17). Johannesburg, South Africa. 24 Sep- 5 Oct 2016.
• Invited Expert. Conservation Working Group and Advisory Committee to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (CMS Sharks MoU). San Jose, Costa Rica. 12-13 Feb 2016.
• IGO Observer. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 2nd Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks. San Jose, Costa Rica. 15-19 Feb 2016.