Manley is the hatchery manager at Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Shellfish Research Laboratory on Skidaway Island. He joined the lab after running his own business, Spatking Oysters L.L.C., which was the first company to intensively farm oysters in the state. Manley has worked in commercial shellfish and finfish aquaculture and research for almost 20 years in the private and public sector in both the U.S. and Canada.

Manley was born and raised in metro Detroit, Michigan but has called Savannah home for over a decade. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology (minor chemistry) from Central Michigan University, his master’s in marine science from Savannah State University, and he is completing his Ph.D. in marine sciences at UGA. Justin takes pride in his off sense of humor that nobody gets. In his spare time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family, weightlifting, running or gardening. When he’s not in Savannah, he is kayaking amongst the mangroves in the Florida Keys or the Caribbean Sea.