Clyde L. MacKenzie Jr., of Fair Haven, N.J. died peacefully on April 29. He was 92 years old.

Clyde was born June 4, 1931 on Martha’s Vineyard to Clyde L. MacKenzie and Ruth Guilford MacKenzie. He grew up on Martha’s Vineyard, where he graduated from high school. He was on the basketball team and enjoyed “The Glory Years” of Vineyard school basketball.

He worked on farms and enjoyed spending time with his family and beloved dog, a Scottish Terrier mix named Shorty. He worked his way through college harvesting shellfish on Martha’s Vineyard.

He completed his undergraduate studies at University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1955 and his master’s degree at College of William and Mary in 1958. He began his career working for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1958, spending 14 years at the NEFSC Milford, Conn. Laboratory. He then transferred to Prince Edward Island in 1972 and worked diligently on a successful oyster rehabilitation program.

Clyde and his family moved to New Jersey in 1973 where he was employed as a fishery research biologist for NOAA at the J.J. Howard Laboratory in Sandy Hook, N.J. His passion for working at NOAA came from growing up in a commercial fishing community in the 1930s and 1940s on Martha’s Vineyard. Throughout his career, he contributed immensely to the industry through his diligent research, and saw tremendous value in combining field work and laboratory work.

He was a careful researcher and a modest practical writer. He was the author of over 60 publications and books, including The History of Bay Scalloping, Fisheries of Raritan Bay (1992), as well as Martha’s Vineyard-Nine Local Histories of Island Life (2017).

He attained his level of success through hard work, determination and the contributions of a great many local people who were interested in the same goals. His goal was to always bring about actual improvements in fisheries and local waters through working with other scientists, as well as active and retired fishermen.

He felt consistently proud about supporting NOAA because their goals are very noble. In Clyde’s words: “I have tried to unveil what Teddy Roosevelt said, ‘No words can unveil the mystery of the wilderness’ by conducting numerous field observations, that have included many underwater via scuba, in estuaries/bays and in the Atlantic Ocean.”

He was still doing research on the offshore fisheries for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Marine Fisheries (NMF) until the time of his death. His dedication to federal service and devotion to the stewardship of our nation’s oceans will long be remembered.

Clyde is predeceased by his wife, Nati Rivera MacKenzie, sister Janice Teller of Ohio, and is survived by his daughter, Natalie MacKenzie of Shrewbury, N.J.; two grandchildren, Emma Sheehan and Aidan Sheehan, and many dear relatives and friends.

He will be remembered as a brilliant, dedicated biologist and as a kind and devoted father and grandfather. He also enjoyed photography, nature, traveling and rooting for the Boston Red Sox. He will be greatly missed.

A memorial service will be held at New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown on May 6 at 11 a.m. Donations may be made to the Vineyard Conservation Society in memory of Clyde.