Bliss serves as the director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Shellfish Research Laboratory on Skidaway Island, Georgia, where he oversees the operation of the shellfish hatchery and conducts research on oyster aquaculture and living shorelines. He joined the unit in 2006 after working on numerous fisheries and wildlife management research projects on the west coast and completing his master’s research on ring-necked pheasants in Austria.

Bliss received a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga in 1998 and received his master’s from UGA Warnell School of Forestry. He is currently working on his Ph.D. at the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. He lives in Savannah with his wife Angela, their two children, Emma and Benjamin, and three dogs. In his spare time, he enjoys running and hiking.