B.C. man receives lifetime fishing ban for repeat offences: Fisheries and Oceans Canada

A file photo shows a statue inside the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, B.C.

A B.C. man has been handed a lifetime ban from fishing and being aboard a fishing vessel after repeatedly violating Canada's Fisheries Act.

It's the first lifetime ban that's been issued in the Pacific region in over a decade, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO.)

Scott Steer received the sentence on Nov. 12 in B.C. Supreme Court following a recent incident in Vancouver Harbour.

On March 1, 2020, Steer was found to be illegally fishing for crab in Vancouver Harbour alongside two crew members.

All three were arrested after Steer's vessel was boarded "after a high-speed pursuit," according to the DFO.

In total, Steer was sentenced to two lifetime bans, as well as six months in jail – minus time served – three years probation, one year under a curfew and 75 hours of community work.

His aluminum vessel, valued at approximately $50,000, must also be forfeited and he has a ban against purchasing or selling another fishing vessel.

Steer is still awaiting two other trials for alleged violations of the Fisheries Act in Nanaimo, according to the DFO.

Since 2008, Steer has been involved in 15 different DFO files, and has had four vessels and two vehicles seized as evidence.

The two other crew members involved in the Vancouver Harbour incident have been convicted or pleaded guilty to violations of the Fisheries Act and will receive sentencing in early 2022, according to the DFO.