Gabriola Island fisherman Scott Stanley Matthew Steer has been banned for life from fishing in Canadian waters.
The B.C. Supreme Court, which sentenced Steer to 144 days in prison, ruled Steer’s conduct as a repeat offender of the Canada Fisheries Act warranted both a lifetime ban from fishing and from being aboard a fishing vessel.
“Given Mr. Steer’s persistent conduct in relation to the commercial fishery over the course of many years, his permanent exclusion from the fishery is warranted,” said Justice Peter Edelmann during sentencing.
Edelmann also ruled Steer should be prohibited from being involved in the purchase or sale of fish or fishing vessels.
“The complete disregard Mr. Steer has persistently shown for fisheries’ laws over the course of many years raises substantial and legitimate concerns around his reliability as a broker of fish or owner of fishing vessels,” Edelman said. “In my view, Mr. Steer has shown, in no uncertain terms, that he cannot be trusted to adhere to fisheries’ regulations.”
In handing down the sentence Edelmann said Steer was being given time and a half credit for the 36 days he’d already spent in custody.
“I am satisfied that a term of imprisonment of six months, followed by a three-year probation order, can adequately denounce Mr. Steer’s conduct and deter him and others from flagrantly disregarding orders of this court and the more general regulation of the commercial fishery for their own profit,” he said.
According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans it has been more than a decade since the last time a lifetime ban was imposed in the Pacific Region.
Steer’s most recent sentence is the result of an incident in March 2020 when his vessel was boarded after a high-speed chase in Vancouver Harbour.
Steer, who has been in jail time several times for fishing offences, was convicted of contravening his ban for being on a fishing vessel, possessing fishing gear, fishing without a licence, fishing during a closed time and possession of crab caught illegally.
Edelmann ruled the forfeiture of the vessel and gear that was seized from Steer in March 2020 was warranted.
“I am satisfied that the vessel and gear are offence-related property and, in my view, given the brazen and flagrant nature of the fishing offences in this case, forfeiture is appropriate,” he said.
The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office started proceedings this year to seize Steer’s Gabriola Island home and just over $1.3 million in cash, saying they were proceeds of illegal fishing and money laundering.
Steer, who has been banned from fishing several times by the court, is awaiting two more trials in Nanaimo for fishing offences.
Sammy Williams, one of the crew arrested with Steer in 2020, has also been convicted for violations of the Fisheries Act and will be sentenced in 2022.
Christopher Schill, the other crew member, pleaded guilty in a separate trial and will be sentenced next year.
