Scott Steer found guilty of illegal sea cucumber harvest and sale

Derek Kilbourn

Sounder News

On Wednesday, January 8, the BC Supreme Court found Scott Steer of Gabriola, and a numbered company (1215419 B.C. Ltd), guilty on multiple counts of violations associated with the illegal harvesting and sale of sea cucumbers in 2019.

Steer was charged with six counts alleging that he illegally caught and sold sea cucumbers, and breached court prohibitions against possessing or acquiring fishing gear or vessels, on dates spanning July 2019 to June 2020

1215419 B.C. Ltd. was co-charged with one count, alleging the illegal sale of sea cucumbers between September and December 2019.

Mr Steer’s wife, Melissa (née Larocque) is the sole registered director, officer, and shareholder of 1215419 B.C. Ltd (referred to as the numbered company).

Steer and the numbered company were found guilty by The Honourable Mr Justice Crerar on all counts.

File photo

Scott Steer of Gabriola, and a numbered company, have been found guilty of illegally harvesting and selling sea cucumbers.

In the summary, Justice Crerar writes that from July to December 2019, Mr Steer acquired vessels and a refrigerator truck, retrofitted the vessels for commercial fishing, bought fishing gear and supplies, incorporated the numbered company, obtained licences, recruited crew, generated false DFO records, oversaw and directed multiple sea cucumber fishing expeditions in closed areas and without licences, and sold those sea cucumbers.

Steer had previously been prohibited by the courts in 2016 from having any fishing gear, being onboard any fishing vessel or applying for a new fishing lease until 2038. At the time of the 2016 prohibitions being put in place, Steer was already under a 10 year prohibition that started in 2013, of not being on board any vessel which is licensed to be engaged in any commercial or aboriginal fisheries in Canadian or American waters; not to possess or acquire any interest, legal or equitable, absolute or contingent, in any such vessel or license; not to own or possess fishing gear of any kind.

“Mr Steer actively orchestrated every aspect of the entire illegal sea cucumber operation of harvest and sale,” writes Justice Crerar.

He adds, “The copious and corroborated evidence overwhelmingly indicates that the accused numbered company was a sham, incorporated primarily to attempt to evade the 2016… Order and earlier prohibitions, and otherwise to insulate Mr Steer from the criminal and other consequences of his illegal fishing activities. It served at all times as an alter ego of its operating and directing mind, Mr Steer. The evidence also establishes that Melissa Steer was fully involved in this deceptive and evasive plan. It is appropriate to pierce the corporate veil in the present circumstances.”

The current proceedings had their origins in Steer’s arrest early in the morning of March 2, 2020, in North Vancouver.

Crew on a passing Seabus alerted police, after observing what appeared to be illegal crab harvesting in Vancouver harbour: a stationary vessel, with no lights illuminated. A DFO team was dispatched.

Upon the DFO’s approach, the vessel sped away. After an eight-minute boat pursuit, the DFO vessel caught up and boarded.

Mr Steer, along with Sammy Williams and Chris Schill, were arrested. On board were some 255 Dungeness crabs.

The March 2, 2020 arrest led to a further investigation of Mr Steer, under the name of “Project Titan.”

On March 6, 2020, DFO officers executed a search warrant on the Steers’ then-home on Catalina Drive in Nanaimo.

In the residence, particularly the garage, officers located various items of fishing gear.

The garage also yielded considerable evidence related to the sale of sea cucumbers.

Officers found various documents throughout the residence, particularly in the master bedroom. These included many receipts for items to improve, maintain, or outfit fishing vessels, including multiple January and February 2020 invoices for parts and equipment consistent with commercial fishing.

According to the Justice, the sea cucumber industry in British Columbia is small (only about 30 vessels) and heavily regulated. The sea cucumber fishery is presumptively closed all year round

In 2019, writes Justice Crerar, most exempted sub-areas were fished for one to three weeks in October, some straddling November; only two sub-areas were open for harvesting until December 7. Where the DFO opens a sub-area for harvesting, in order to legally harvest sea cucumbers on a commercial basis, a person must hold a commercial sea cucumber licence or, in the case of First Nations, a communal commercial sea cucumber licence. Justice Crerar notes the 2016 and 2013 prohibitions would have meant Steer could not obtain such a license.

The sea cucumbers, once caught and processed by Steer’s associates, were sold to Wen Lian, a company which at the time, operated a processing plant in Vancouver. The company sold 90 percent of its sea cucumbers to mainland China. From October to December 2019, the numbered company delivered 87,373 pounds of sea cucumbers. From September to December 2019, Wen Lian sent $1,005,718 in 13 transfers and cheques (most of which were marked “sea cucumbers”) to the numbered company.

For the purpose of export to China, Wen Lian required validation papers, certifying the origins of each harvest.

Steer provided four “fish slips” to provide to Wen Lian.

These documents bear the DFO letterhead, with a Canadian flag logo. Each fish slip sets out the names of the vessel masters and vessel, the licence number, trip length, and weight and value of the individual sea cucumber harvest.

The conditions of a commercial fishing licence require the licence-holder to complete and submit fish slips to DFO after the offload of each catch. The DFO in turn maintains a database based on the fish slip records, in order to track the value and amount of fish caught in a specific period.

While the fish slips provided to Wen Lian appear legitimate on their face, the evidence produced by the Crown showed they are forgeries, designed to convey to Wen Lian and others that the sea cucumbers had been legitimately harvested.

The Crown called three of the four vessel masters listed on the fish slips: Stan McNeill (of the Zomby Woof), Brion Robinson (of the Elly), and John Lindsay (of the Second Wind). All three masters confirmed that they did not prepare or sign the fish slips bearing their names.

Judge Crerar writes, “none of the signatures above the “harvester’s signature” were theirs, as they should have been; indeed, those signatures were identical on each of the four fish slips.

“The signatures above each signature line for the tallyman—the independent officer who confirms the weight and other features of the catch when it is brought to the dock—were also identical on all four fish slips, even though the catches were purportedly offloaded at three different and distant ports: Port Hardy, Tofino, and Prince Rupert.”

The Crown asserts the tallyman signatures were almost certainly deceptively filled in by Mr Steer: the signatures resemble those on his Telus account documents.

Later testimony was given by Ms. Steer in which she admitted that she herself had printed the fish slip forms off the official DFO website, and had filled out most of the false information in the boxes on the fish slips.

While Justice Crerar did not find Ms. Steer personally guilty on any charge, he did invite the Attorney General to consider whether to commence a perjury investigation into Ms Steer’s testimony in this and other proceedings.

Crerar writes, “I also invite the Attorney General to consider whether to commence an investigation against one or both of Mr or Ms Steer with respect to the after-the-fact doctored addition of “Seacoo” to the carbon-copy validation form that Ms Steer herself provided to the Court during her direct examination, as well as with respect to the McNeill and Melissa Steer affidavits quoted herein, and the false fish slips, under s. 137, 138, or 366 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, or otherwise.”

Staff with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) explained the sea cucumber industry in British Columbia is small, (only about 30 vessels) heavily regulated, and is closed for the majority of the year except from October to December. The increase in the value of sea cucumbers has made them a target for illegal harvesters.

Sea cucumbers are vulnerable to overharvest and any harvest outside the Total Allowable Catch is a conservation concern.

“Illegal fishing undermines the efforts of legitimate commercial harvesters who abide by the rules and regulations, and threatens the sustainability of local fishing resources. It can hurt the economic prospects of coastal communities, recreational and commercial industries, as well as diminish the traditional food sources of Indigenous people. Regulations ensure that timely, accurate information on harvesting practices, catch composition, and location, is available to ensure conservation and long-term sustainability of the fish resources. They also ensure that fish are safe for human consumption. Any fish sold must be processed through a licensed plant to ensure quality and public safety. Fish that has not been inspected may be unsafe for consumption.”

Staff write, “Mr. Steer is a habitual repeat offender repeatedly found guilty by the Courts of numerous offences against Canada’s Fisheries Act. He has a lengthy record of criminal convictions all around BC’s coast dating from 2010. Several jail terms, lifetime fishing bans and comprehensive prohibitions, plus significant fines over the years, have not deterred his criminal activities.”

DFO did not provide information on what the financial cost of the investigation and enforcement activities were regarding this case, nor did staff provide information on how prolific poaching for sea cucumbers is on the West Coast.

Staff did say, “the Department is pleased with the successful convictions on all counts as this represents the successful work and unstinting efforts of many DFO Conservation and Protection fishery officers, analysts and other DFO staff spanning several years.”

They pointed to Judge Crerar’s ruling where he stated, “The Crown has established its case against both the individual and corporate accused through extensive, exhausting, convincing, comprehensive, and corroborative evidence.

“This case is an important one and may be used as precedent in future proceedings of this nature.”

DFO states it will provide further comments after sentencing concludes sometime in the Spring of 2025.

As of press time, sentencing had not been scheduled.

DFO staff requested that anyone with information about suspected violations of Canada’s Fisheries Act and regulations to call the Fisheries and Oceans Canada toll-free violation reporting line at 1-800-465-4336, or e-mail the details to DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

For more on what to report – Report a fisheries violation – BC sport fishing guide (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)