Dr. Adam Smith

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

BSc (Hons) • The University of New South Wales
MBA • The University of Queensland
PhD • The University of New South Wales

Dr. Adam Smith is a dedicated scientist, manager and leader who has a lifelong commitment to the marine environment and a vision to make a positive difference for current and future generations. Adam is the Chief Executive Officer of Reef Ecologic and an Adjunct Associate Professor with James Cook University. Adam has over 30 years of experience and has initiated, collaborated and delivered many innovative and important ecological, social and community projects involving tourism, fisheries, ports, Defence and research in the Great Barrier Reef, Pacific and the world.

Dr. Adam Smith provides leadership, strategic advice, research and monitoring and capacity building to communities, industry and government. He is a people person and is recognised for empowering teams and delivering excellent outcomes. Adam is a chairman and board member of several established and start-up organizations linked to marine or environmental activities and has authored over 100 scientific papers, technical reports and books.

Recent Projects

• Marine and Coastal Environmental Protection Initiative for Saudi Arabia
• Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA)
• Whitsundays Reef Recovery and Public Art Project
• Kiribati Strategic Advice – Phoenix Islands Protected Area
• International Coral Reef Management and Leadership Program

Recent Publications

• Smith, A. K., Cook, N., Grundy, A., Lück, M., Pert, P. L., Picken, F., & Stacey, J. (2022). Innovative local response to cyclone-damaged reef leads to rapid tourism recovery. Journal of Ecotourism, January, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2022.2027952
• Smith, H., Brown, D., Arjunwadkar, C., Fulton, S., Whitman, T., Hermanto, B., Mastroianni, E., Mattocks, N., Smith, A., Harrison, P., Boström Einarsson, L., McLeod, I., & Bourne, D. (2021). Removal of macroalgae from degraded reefs enhances coral recruitment. Restoration Ecology. 10.1111/rec.13624.
• Cook, N., Smith, A., Songcuan, A., Cassidy, D., Sartori, G., & McLeod, I. (2021). Lessons learned from small scale coral outplanting interventions at a restoration site on the Great Barrier Reef. Ecological Management & Restoration. https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12547
• Welch, D., Smith, A., Krusic-Golub, K., Erdmann, S., & Newman, S. (2021). Preliminary age-based life history characteristics of the dogtooth tuna, Gymnosarda unicolor (Ruppell, 1838), in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Aquaculture and Fisheries. 10.1016/j.aaf.2021.12.004.
• Smith, A., Cook, N., Cook, K., Brown, R., Woodgett, R., Veron, J., & Saylor, V. (2021). Field measurements of a massive Porites coral at Goolboodi (Orpheus Island), Great Barrier Reef. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94818-w