Canadian With 'Longest Record of Fisheries Act Violations' Receives 6-Year Prison Sentence and $1.1 Million Fine

A Canadian man who played fast and loose with wildlife laws for well over a decade just received his latest punishment—and it’s a severe one. On July 25, British Columbia Supreme Court judge David Crerar sentenced Scott Steer of Gabriola Island to six years of jail time and over $1 million Canadian dollars in fines for Fisheries Act violations.

Image of Scott Steer via Nanaimo RCMP.

The recent sentencing has to do with, among other violations, the illegal harvesting and selling of more than $1 million worth of sea cucumbers in 2019 and 2020; he reportedly continued to do so as his trial remained ongoing. In total, Steer and his shell “corporation,” were prosecuted for eight charges, including fishing without a license and fishing during a closed time.

Because of history, which Crerar characterized as a "remarkably long record of violations” inhis written ruling, Steer had already been prohibited from possessing fishing vessels, which he broke as part of his recent illegal activity.

The severity of the sentencing stems from Steer’s lengthy record of wildlife violations, which date back to before 2008 and includes the illegal take of crabs from Vancouver Harbor, defrauding a boat owner, and other violations, mostly related to illicit commercial fishing activities.

“The Crown understands Mr. Steer’s record to be the longest record of Fisheries Act violations in Canadian history,” wrote Crerar. Past “warnings, fines, prohibitions, and multiple incarceration sentences of various lengths have all failed to deter or reform Mr. Steer.”

In a separate sentence delivered in 2021 by a British Columbia judge, Steerreceived a lifetime fishing ban—the first doled out in the Canadian Pacific region in over a decade.

“He shows contempt for the fishermen who follow the rules. He shows contempt for the efforts of past courts to steer him towards an honest path through less severe sanctions that rely on his honesty and compliance,” wrote Crerar in the latest ruling.

“The only way to stop Mr Steer from ravaging the ocean and flouting the law and court orders is to move him far from the sea for a long period of time,” he added. “A significant period of incarceration is not only proportionate and just, but necessary.”

Feature image of sea cucumber meat via Adobe Stock.

Shop