Career poacher Scott Stanley Matthew Steer, 47, will spend the next six years behind bars and will also split a fine of over $1m with his wife after being sentenced for numerous fishing violations. The hammer finally came six months after he was found guilty on eight different charges related to the illegal fishing and sale of sea cucumbers. “The copious and corroborated evidence overwhelmingly indicates that the accused numbered company was a sham, incorporated primarily to attempt to evade the 2016 [Court] order, and earlier prohibitions.”
 |
Steer’s wife, Melissa Dawn Larocque Steer, was heavily fined as the sole representative of the numbered company, 1215419 B.C. Ltd. She knew all about poaching. |
Charges against Steer included fishing without a license, fishing out of season, and numerous violations of Steer’s prohibition from owning fishing gear in relation to multiple fishing offenses in 2019 and 2020. The couple were still involved in the harvest and sale of illegal sea cucumbers while the trial was ongoing.
 |
Steer’s criminal history of poaching included 34 convictions in 13 prior cases, dating back to 2008. |
Gabriola Island resident Scott Stanley Steer landed in hot water again in 2020. The serial poacher led fisheries officers on a high-speed chase on March 2, 2020. The vessel he was driving had no navigational lights visible and he engaged in “evasive manoeuvres, including hairpin turns” and had “near collisions” in the chase to avoid capture. Steer was ultimately arrested after the chase, and was found to have more than 250 illegal crabs. Steer is off for another 6 months in jail and three years probation. He was also handed a lifetime fishing prohibition and a prohibition from being on any fishing vessel. He promptly ignored those.
A forfeiture claim alleged Scott Steer has a ‘prolific’ history of illegal fishing violations and his assets are derived from crime. The B.C. government wanted to seize a Gabriola Island home and more than $1.3m in cash from Steer.
Steer’s career of stealing is extensive. Since 2008, there have been 15 different Fisheries and Oceans Canada files on him. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail and ordered to forfeit his crab fishing gear and vessel in 2016. It was his 4th offense. He has poached commercial fisheries, sea cucumbers and crabs for more than a dozen years. In May 2021, Steer was convicted of crab fishing yet again, including 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.
An enhanced lifetime fishing ban with stronger restrictions was imposed on Steer when he gets out of jail, including not being in possession of any fish, except fish under two kilograms, for personal consumption only. At the time of his most recent crimes, Steer was banned from owning fishing gear, applying for a fishing license, or even being on board any fishing vessel until 2038. He gave no fuk about that. It took over 16 years, but the career thief finally got his.
Leave a Reply