In May, Scott Stanley Matthew Steer was found guilty of five violations of the Fisheries Act. A few hours after midnight on March 2, 2020, officials found Steer illegally fishing for crab in the Vancouver harbor. They were told about it by the Vancouver SeaBus. He was told to stop by a fisheries enforcement vessel but took off in his boat, according to court documents.
For the second time, Steer is accused of breaking the Fisheries Act. He is awaiting two more trials in Nanaimo. As of 2008, there have been fifteen Fish and Oceans Canada files on Steer. When Edelmann handed out the lifetime ban, he said that Steer’s long-term bad behavior in the commercial fishery was the reason for it. Only once in the last 30 years has there been another lifetime ban in the Pacific.
A rare lifetime ban
“There’s been no deterrent in sending him to jail. No fine amount would seem to be enough,” said Art Demsky, detachment commander with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “This is your lifetime ban. At some point, you just have to say ‘Enough is enough.’ Illegal fishing makes it hard to manage resources properly,” says Demsky, “It can lead to over-harvesting. Only crab caught with a license can be sold or bought, and it must first be properly processed and inspected through a licensed plant to make sure it is safe to eat.”
“Everyone is affected by it,” said Demsky. “You can call the Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s violation reporting line at 1-800-465-4336”
