Shirley Departs Louisiana Sea Grant

After 41 years, Louisiana Sea Grant (LSG) and LSU AgCenter marine extension agent Mark Shirley has announced his retirement. A New Orleans native, Shirley earned his master’s degree in wildlife management from Louisiana State University in 1979. Since joining LSG and the LSU AgCenter in 1984, he has dedicated his career to the advancement of marine extension.

Shirley developed numerous educational and outreach programs – perhaps most notably, Marsh Maneuvers. Established in 1989, Marsh Maneuvers is an immersive education program that focuses on promoting knowledge and motivating students in grades 9-12 toward studying coastal ecology and biological sciences. Since its debut, Marsh Maneuvers and Shirley have impacted thousands of students. Many of those alumni have since had children of their own who participated in Marsh Maneuvers.

“One of the highlights of my career was working with youth,” Shirley said. “Teaching students about the coast through Marsh Maneuvers has encouraged many kids to pursue careers in science and academia.”

“Marsh Maneuvers would not be the program it is today without Mark,” said Wayne Burgess, a 4H agent with the LSU AgCenter. “He realized it’s potential and made it so engaging that 30 years later, it’s still the best summer camp the AgCenter has.”

“Through the 30-plus years I’ve known Mark; I have been continually impressed by his dedication to youth education and by his skilled and even-keeled approach as a technical advisor to Louisiana’s diverse coastal stakeholders,” said Rex Caffey, director of LSG’s marine extension program.

“Mark is one-of-a-kind,” said Paul Coreil, former LSG marine extension agent, former AgCenter director of cooperative extension and current chancellor of LSU Alexandria. “He has the magic of connecting with kids by getting their hands dirty and their feet wet, growing their minds in the wetlands. We have a better educated population because of him.”

Shirley has collaborated with other experts, agencies and organizations to address challenges facing Louisiana’s coastal and marine environments, which are vital to the state’s economy, especially in industries like shrimp fisheries, alligator and crawfish farming.

“He is truly innovative in helping the state’s economy grow as trends changed,” Coreil added.

Shirley is an aquaculture specialist with expertise in crawfish, alligator and recreational fish production. He educated new crawfish farmers on production and harvesting practices since the late 1980s. He was the first to detect White Spot Virus Syndrome in 2007, a viral disease that can wipe out a crawfish pond in the springtime. Shirley assisted producers across the state and played a significant part in the growth of the crawfish industry to where it is today – worth an estimated $300 million annually.

For more than 30 years, Shirley served as the secretary of the Louisiana Alligator Farmers and Ranchers Association, helping keep the organization active and involved with national and international issues. He participated in marketing trips to Hong Kong and Italy promoting the use of both wild and farm raised Louisiana alligator leather. In 2024, he presented a seminar on the economic value of the Louisiana alligator industry at the International Crocodile Specialist Group meeting in Darwin, Australia.

Over the years, thousands of homeowners have relied on Shirley’s recommendations concerning water quality, aquatic weed control and fish management in backyard ponds. Stakeholders appreciated the detailed explanation of their problems and the alternatives to correct them.

“Mark knows the true importance of having incentives along the coast. He sees the issues and troubleshoots them,” said Phillip “Scooter” Trosclair, program manager at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge. “He has been a huge asset for the state by connecting coastal regions to communities further from the coast. His institutional knowledge is a major resource that benefits everyone.”

During the late 1980s, Shirley presented at a meeting of shrimp fishermen to demonstrate the proper installation of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs). “This particular meeting was highly charged and filled with angry shrimpers who resented the recent federal mandate requiring use of the new gear. As the crowd grew more raucous, Mark was explaining the workings of a TED to the crowd and the news cameras when a fisherman threw a bucket of diesel on the TED and shrimp net he was holding and set it on fire. As the crown cheered, Mark calmly stomped out the flames, picked up the device, and continued his presentation,” said Caffey. “That’s even keeled.”

Although a bit scary at the time, Shirley and those same shrimpers look back, shake their heads and smile. Since then, the fishermen have participated in the annual meetings Shirley has held to keep them abreast of regulations, safety issues and disaster assistance programs.

“Mark continued to work with the shrimp fishermen and that impressed them,” said Thu Bui, LSG/LSU AgCenter marine extension agent. “People trusted him. Mark just makes connections with people. He never needs the spotlight because he shines from within. He sees the best in people and can motivate them to do great things.”

Bui was recruited as an extension agent by Shirley nearly 18 years ago. “He just makes things happen. He’s always calm, never gets angry.” Bui said. “Mark has never met a person he couldn’t connect with and he’s so versatile because this is what he was meant to do.”

Through disaster recoveries, Shirley was consistent and relentless in getting things accomplished. During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Shirley called the Coast Guard until he got to the top of the chain of command. Together, Shirley and Bui were able to host a meeting for 400 people in Abbeville to determine what the next steps would be to restore the coast and get the industries back in production.

For his dedication, Shirley has earned many public service awards. He was named Alumnus of the Year in 2022 by the Louisiana State University School of Renewable Natural Resources/Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Hall of Fame; received the Meritorious Public Service Award from the United States Coast Guard (USCG); named the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana’s Conservationist of the Year; awarded the Hunter Safety Educator of the Year; and most recently, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.

These awards further provide proof of Shirey’s dedication to Louisiana and its communities. “The passion and impact are measured over long periods of time. There’s no test at the end, the impacts that extension agents have are continuous, over lifetimes. Being a trusted source of information while still being part of the community, a part of the family,” Shirley said. “I get to see multiple generations of farmers succeed as part of my job, making recommendations to help them grow.”

“From LSU undergrad wrestling to alligator wrestling, Mark has been an important part of Louisiana Sea Grant,” said Julie Lively, LSG executive director. “His impact on the crawfish, alligators and shrimp industries is immeasurable. Mark was always an essential voice guiding new ideas and projects to protect the coast. His dedication to the youth and their chaperones for Marsh Maneuvers, including my first trip to Grand Isle, clearly has a lasting effect.”

“Mark has always been a creative, energetic and organized educator. While the tasks for a marine agent may be conceptually focused on local issues, Mark’s program’s impacted people statewide,” said Kenneth Roberts, former LSU marine extension specialist and retired AgCenter associate vice chancellor/associate director for extension. “Initiatives in freshwater aquaculture, fishing vessel safety, and coastal resources functions and values exemplify a comprehensive approach to advancing understanding of coastal resource use.”

As for his retirement, Shirley is looking forward to spending more time with his grandchildren and traveling. He’ll miss the frequent visits with producers and agencies that his spent his career helping, but he’s happy to turn it over to the next generation.

“The extension job is a vocation,” Shirley said. “It may not have been the most lucrative, but the value is directly related to the relationships developed over the years.”