Fishermen account for 30 percent to 40 percent of heroin users arrested in New Bedford, say narcotics detectives who often bust the same fishermen over and over in attempts to keep the streets clean. Police say there are at least 1,000 heroine users in the city. Fishermen interviewed by The Standard-Times admitted sharing needles and drugs over the past 10 years. The third fisherman says he was lucky to have avoided the virus. The two fishermen with AIDS in this series each saw their wives take to the streets as prostitutes in an attempt to provide income for themselves and feed their own habits.
Fishermen say the hard life they find at sea contributes to their drug use.
He said he lost his family and his reputation because of his drug addiction. He said he tried to shield his wife from his lifestyle but she followed him to the waterfront and eventually began working the streets. She later cleaned up her act and divorced him, leaving the city and its drug scene. He said despite enrolling in several detoxification centers, he is unable to avoid heroin when he returns to the city. It is too hard to be here and stay clean.