Mark Rath is an Aquaculture Manager at the National Sea Grant Office. He co-leads the NSGO aquaculture portfolio, and supports the aquaculture research and extension being conducted at state Sea Grant programs in the mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Gulf Coast, and western Great Lakes regions. Before joining the Sea Grant team, Mark served as the Science Coordinator at the NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture.

Prior to his time at NOAA, Mark worked in several sectors of the aquaculture industry including food and ornamental fish production, public aquariums, agricultural extension and aquatic research models. He earned his M.S. in Aquaculture from the University of Maryland Marine Estuarine and Environmental Science program in 2004 and over the years has worked with many species, including tilapia, yellow perch, striped bass, Atlantic sturgeon, menhaden, blue crabs, oysters, clownfish, sea urchins, African clawed frogs and zebrafish. At the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, Mark led the aquatics team in the development and management of over 15 different aquaculture research laboratories on that campus and at the Walter Reed Military Medical Center. In 2011-2012 Mark served as President of the Zebrafish Husbandry Association.

Email: mark.a.rath@noaa.gov