David WILLIAMSON

David is a marine scientist with expertise in coral reef ecology, fisheries biology, marine conservation research and management. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from James Cook University (JCU) in 1996 and spent the next decade working on government, academic and industry sector research projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands. He later returned to JCU and spent several years investigating the ecological effects of no-take marine reserves on coral reefs, before graduating with a PhD in 2009. David went on to continue his research during a post-doctoral fellowship at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies between 2010 and 2015, where he designed and coordinated research projects focused on marine reserves, biodiversity conservation, fisheries management and larval connectivity. After several years back in the private sector, David is currently working with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority where he is the Assistant Director of the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Control Program. He has authored over 80 scientific publications and reports and delivered presentations at numerous academic, government, industry and stakeholder conferences in Australia and internationally.