Rate My Professor David Fairclough

Dr David Fairclough serves as Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University. He holds a PhD from Murdoch University, completed between 2000 and 2004, with research focused on fish biology and fisheries, particularly reproduction, growth, and habitats of Labridae species. Earlier, he earned a degree in biological sciences and fish biology with Honours from Murdoch University between 1994 and 1998. Professionally, Fairclough is Principal Research Scientist and Group Leader in Aquatic Sciences and Assessment at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia, a role he has held since May 2021. In this capacity, he oversees the science, monitoring, and assessment of demersal fish resources across Western Australia. His career includes positions as Researcher at the Department of Fisheries Western Australia from February 2008 to March 2012, and Senior Researcher from March 2012 to May 2021, concentrating on monitoring and assessment of demersal fish resources.

Fairclough's research specializations encompass fish biology, ecology, fisheries and stock assessment, stock structure determination, fish movement studies using acoustic telemetry and mark-recapture techniques, fish assemblages via contemporary methodologies such as stereo-video surveys, and integration of citizen science. Key publications include 'A field and video annotation guide for baited remote underwater stereo-video surveys of demersal fish assemblages' (Langlois et al., 2020), 'Breathing life into fisheries stock assessments with citizen science' (Fairclough et al., 2014), 'Similarities between Line Fishing and Baited Stereo-Video Estimations of Length-Frequency: Novel Application of Kernel Density Estimates' (Langlois et al., 2012), 'To what extent are the dietary compositions of three abundant, co-occurring labrid species different and related to latitude, habitat, body size and season?' (Lek et al., 2011), and more recent works such as 'West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource Synopsis' (2024), 'Spatial distribution and temporal variability in life stages of key fish species in Cockburn Sound' (2025), and 'The role of embayments in local recruitment and connectivity of the fisheries-important snapper Chrysophrys auratus' (2026). His contributions have advanced sustainable management of Western Australian fisheries through innovative assessment methods and data integration.