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Professor David BOOTH

SASAL Chair & Director

“I am a fish ecologist interested in how fish live but also in how they stack up against human pressures?"

Habitat

Sydney NSW, in the lab, on the high seas, under the waves spying on? schools of human fish.

Habits

As UTS Professor of Marine Ecology David Booth has been a teacher, researcher and influencer for over 40 years. He is passionate about educating the broader community and policy makers. This explains why he is a strong supporter of citizen science projects, his students adore him, and his opinion is frequently sought by the press on topical marine issues. Fellow marine ecologist and wife Gigi Baretta is a regular collaborator, supporting and augmenting a demanding professional and teaching schedule.

David is not coloured by industry affiliations and will comment where many will not. His views are informed by a deep scientific understanding, international collaborations and a wealth of practical experience

Of particular relevance to Happy Fish David is Co-Founder of the SASAL regarded by many as the gold standard of seafood sustainability assessments

“I’m passionate about marine protection that also allows sustainable and useful extraction of fish”

David’s many hats include coordinating citizen science projects, Judge for The Earthshot Prize “the most prestigious global environment prize”, and is a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW. He is Past President of the Australia Coral Reef Society; collaborating with NSW Department of Primary Industry, NSW Dept of Environment and Conservation, UTS Microstructural Analysis Unit, Oregon State University, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of the Virgin Islands.

“I think of ecology as synthetic. That sounds fake, I know – but what I mean is, it synthesises everything else. To do good ecology, you need to know and have collaborations in maths, geology, weather, chemistry, physics, computer modelling… all of it.

A lot of ecology is about predicting the future, so in a way, you’re a bit of a clairvoyant too. And the scope is massive. It touches everything: biodiversity, overpopulation, climate change, plastic pollution—everything that’s on people’s minds when it comes to the environment. Ecology is at the core of it all.”

This highly collaborative, creative solution seeking, can be seen in David’s approach to the 2020 Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research:

“Climate change, overfishing and pollution are devastating coral reefs so I was part of an interdisciplinary team to start thinking outside the box about solutions. We located the positive outliers, the bright spots, that were reefs that were doing well despite facing difficult conditions to see what we could learn from them.”

“We found investments rooted in local community ownership and reef stewardship inspired communities to develop creative solutions that challenge the narrative of inevitable reef decline”

Honours

  • Selected as Judge for the Earthshot Prize “the most prestigious global environment prize”,
  • David has published over 200 papers in reef-fish ecology, climate change and other anthropogenic impacts on fishes and fisheries, in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Great Barrier Reef.
  • Appointed the global protector of seahorses
  • Awarded UNSW Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research.
  • Served as President of the Australian Coral Reef Society, and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences (SIMS).
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Zoology NSW

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