Research Geneticist, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Craig's research broadly focuses on the evolution, conservation and biology of marine fishes. In his role at the National Marine Fisheries Service, Craig currently provides genetic information for fishes and invertebrates that is used to create policy for fisheries management. This includes populations and species in the wild and in the rapidly developing aquaculture industry.

Craig earned his PhD in marine biology in 2005. His dissertation focused on the patterns and processes of speciation and biogeography in the groupers. Given that groupers are a heavily exploited group of fishes, Craig's research turned towards conservation biology. In 2012 he was appointed as the co-chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Groupers and Wrasses Specialist Group which is responsible for performing extinction risk analyses that are published on the Red List of Threatened Species and utilized by many countries as the basis for policy recommendations. Craig is also actively involved in research on the life history of fishes. Using various techniques, this research aims to describe basic information about fishes including age, longevity and reproductive mode. These data, along with estimates of stock abundances and biomass, are utilized to stock assessment models to provide guidance for effective management.