High Seas & Transboundary Fisheries Management
Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMOs) are multilateral institutions that generally aim to ensure the sustainability of tuna, billfish, and other large pelagic fish stocks within their area of competence by managing and controlling access. Julia has contributed to activities that advocate for stronger fisheries management measures for North Atlantic Shortfin Mako Shark collaborations with Shark Advocates International. Most of these activities involved building support for management measures among Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) which are also members of the International Convention on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). This work sparked Julia’s interest in tRFMOs. Julia’s first Ph.D. chapter uses econometric approaches to assess the effectiveness of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) restrictions implemented by tRFMOs on the high seas.
Current Research: Using the synthetic control method to estimate the causal impact of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) restrictions on high seas fish stocks.
Our recent publication in Fish and Fisheries places us among the first to use the synthetic control method - which is widely used in economics and political science - in the field of fisheries science. The synthetic control approach predicts the status of a given TAC-managed stock in the absence of a TAC. The causal effect of the TAC can be estimated by taking the difference between the observed stock trajectory and the synthetic control stock trajectory. Right: The trajectory of the TAC-managed North Atlantic Swordfish stock fishing mortality (F/FMSY) (in black) and the predicted synthetic non-quota North Atlantic Swordfish stock fishing mortality (in blue). The light blue shaded around the synthetic control indicates 90% prediction intervals. Check out our open-access publication here.
Relevant Peer-reviewed Publications.
• Lawson JM, Smith CM. 2023. A synthetic control approach to estimate the effect of Total Allowable Catches in the high seas. Fish and Fisheries. doi:10.1111/faf.12752
• Dulvy NK, Pacoureau N, Rigby CL, Pollom RA, Jabado RW, Ebert DA, Finucci B, Pollock CM, Cheok J, Derrick, DH, Herman KB, Sherman S, VanderWright WJ, Lawson JM, et al. 2021. Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis. Current Biology. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.062
Relevant Technical Reports and Book Chapters.
• 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]
Relevant Presentations.
• 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. 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.
Relevant Awards & Grants.
• 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 on behalf of Shark Advocates International. 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 on behalf of Shark Advocates International. 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 on behalf of Shark Advocates International. 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.