FAIRHAVEN — September 22, 2012 — For the first time in four years, Jane Derego and her husband, Larry, are sleeping peacefully at night, with a little help from Sen. Scott Brown and the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries.
After two years of uncertainty, the Department of Marine Fisheries last week granted the Deregos an exemption, on medical grounds, that will now allow them to sell their fishing business.
The Fairhaven couple has been struggling since Jan. 1, 2008, when Larry Derego, a lifelong commercial fisherman, suffered a stroke. It paralyzed his left side and forced his 40-foot lobster boat, Seahorse, into storage at the Fairhaven Shipyard.
No longer able to work, Derego could not sell his conch and lobster business because Department of Marine Fisheries regulations currently prohibit the transfer of a conch license.
Faced with the impasse, Jane Derego asked Brown for his help when the senator met with fishermen's wives in Fairhaven last month.
"His aide, Jack Richards, called me later and then contacted the state," she said.
A Department of Marine Fisheries official called the Deregos last week and told them the necessary paperwork would be mailed out to them to allow the transfer.
"We're ecstatic. This is going to help us out a lot," Derego said. "It's been a hard four years but Scott Brown really helped to get this going."
Despite intensive rehab, Larry Derego still has difficulty maintaining his balance.
"He can never go back fishing," his wife said.
"It's a long-awaited day of relief for Jane and Lawrence Derego," Brown said in an emailed statement. "After years of frustration, I'm proud that we've achieved a positive outcome for a family that has been through so much. I want to thank Paul Diodati at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries for his help and compassion on this case."
The couple now plans to contact the people who previously expressed an interest in acquiring their business.
Read the full story at South Coast Today