As a Project Director, Mariah works to create tools that help FishWise partners, and the larger seafood industry, reduce and ultimately eliminate illegal products from seafood supply chains, while ensuring all seafood is traceable back to its origins. Mariah summarized the seafood traceability landscape in North America in a white paper in 2012 and she continues to work alongside the many stakeholders seeking to improve traceability within the seafood industry. Mariah has also organized workshops and participated in events focused on combating illegal fishing and improving human rights in seafood supply chains, serving as a coordinator within this network of stakeholders. Mariah’s background in science, business engagement, and supply chain logistics allow her to add a unique perspective to these conversations and create viable solutions that allow for improvements on the water while safeguarding seafood businesses from fraud.

Mariah graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology, and in 2010 she completed her masters research at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, where she studied the diet of a deep water skate and the trophic relationships of groundfishes caught in bottom trawls along the west coast. Mariah is also an Assistant Specialist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, working with Dr. Marc Mangel in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Her knowledge and passion for the ocean have led Mariah to work across a variety of sectors from government, to academia and education. Past positions have included time at sea monitoring fish stocks off Alaska, California, Washington, and Oregon and researching artisanal fishing practices to inform community-based marine protected areas in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Her published work focuses on shark conservation, stable isotope analysis, and trophic ecology of fishes. Mariah’s diverse research and work experiences have allowed her to develop a well-rounded understanding of fisheries and ocean health.