Dr. Doug Lipton is Program Leader of the Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program, a marine economic specialist with the program and Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland College Park. He previously (1979-1988) worked as a fishery biologist and then industry economist for the National Marine Fisheries Service headquarters, now located in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has a B.S. (Biology) from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, M.S. (Marine Science) from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, and a Ph.D. (Agricultural & Resource Economics) from the University of Maryland College Park. Over his 30 year career Dr. Lipton has authored over 60 extension publications, 18 peer-reviewed journal articles, coauthored 2 books, and 2 book chapters, and delivered over 500 talks related to his research and extension activities. Dr. Lipton’s areas of expertise include fisheries economics, marine environmental valuation, recreational and non-market valuation. His work has covered topics such as recreational boating, recreational fishing, seafood demand, aquaculture production, and numerous other topics related to marine and coastal economics.