FAIRHAVEN, Mass. — September 3, 2012 — A lifelong fisherman who suffered a stroke and can no longer work says he has been unable to sell his boat or his state fishing permit, even with interested buyers, because of state regulations.
Lawrence Derego, 60, wrested a living from the sea as a commercial fisherman until a stroke on Jan. 1, 2008, paralyzed his left side. Despite intensive rehab, Derego still has difficulty maintaining his balance. He and his wife, Jane, a certified nursing assistant, are struggling financially while their 40-foot lobster boat, Seahorse, remains in storage at Fairhaven Shipyard.
"After it happened I had a man who wanted to run the boat for me. But the Department of Marine Fisheries said it had to be owner-operated," said Derego, who holds lobster and conch permits. Derego had to wait six months to get on disability and a full year for Medicare.
"It was tough with no money coming in. Our nest egg was gone," he said.
With the price of lobster depressed, the conch, or channeled whelk, fishery has now become lucrative. But selling his permit is not an option, he said, because DMF rules currently prohibit the transfer of a license. However Derego said that transferring his license would not add to the number of permit holders and a moratorium on new permits has already been in effect since 1989.
Conch catches have increased sharply over the last six years, according to DMF figures, which show more than 2 million pounds landed in 2010. That number is now more than 3 million, leading to fears that the harvest is unsustainable.
"In May 2010 we had someone who wanted to buy the permits, but they said that transfers were frozen," Derego said. DMF told him to get in the boat and go fishing, he said. Derego, who first went fishing with his father when he was 6 years old, said it is all he has ever done and he would still be out there if he could do it.
"They said (his stroke rehabilitation) would be six months to a year," his wife said. "We were going to Sandwich three days a week for rehab trying to get him back. But he still has no balance at all."
The Deregos' plight became public recently when Scott Brown visited Fairhaven to speak with a group of fishermen's wives. Jane Derego made an emotional plea to the senator for help.
The Department of Marine Fisheries responded to inquiries from The Standard-Times through a spokesman, Reginald Zimmerman, and seemed to offer some hope for a resolution.
"Given Mr. Derego's current situation, we are currently reviewing a proposed rule, introduced in May, which may allow for the transfer of the conch permit along with the lobster permit," Zimmerman said in an email. "We look forward to working with the Derego family in getting this important matter resolved."
Read the full story in the New Bedford Standard Times