Commercial Fishing Boat Master Sentenced

[searun]

Well, well...now we know where our hali went....
[h=1]Commercial Fishing Boat Master Sentenced[/h]<section style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><time datetime="2014-01-29">January 29, 2014</time> - Nanaimo, British Columbia
A commercial fishing boat master found guilty for the third time in the past six years of serious offences against the Fisheries Act, was sentenced on November 26, 2013, to six months in prison (concurrent on multiple counts), a $15,000 fine, and a 10-year prohibition from fishing in Canadian or <abbr title="United States of America" style="cursor: help;">U.S.</abbr> waters.
On June 26, 2013, in Nanaimo Provincial Court, the Honourable Judge Ted Gouge found Scott Stanley Matthew Steer guilty of seven counts related to various illegal fishing activities. The multiple convictions stemmed from fishing activity conducted by Mr. Steer between July 2010 and January 2011 when he was master of the commercial ground fish harvesting vessel, the Pacific Titan. The illegal acts occurred in various locations around Vancouver Island and in Dawson Creek. They include selling tuna, halibut and sablefish that were caught without a licence, and multiple other violations of the conditions of his commercial fishing licence.
Trial details:

• eight days of evidence;
• 11 civilian witnesses and two fishery officers testified on behalf of the Crown;
• witnesses included business owners from Worldwide Seafoods and French Creek Seafoods; and
• Archipelago Marine Research, which provides electronic onboard catch monitoring for the commercial fishing industry, also testified for the Crown.

Justice Gouge noted that: “I have been provided with victim impact statements from representatives from the fishing industry, deploring Mr. Steer’s conduct and requesting that I impose a serious penalty on him.” He further urged that: “For the reasons put forward in those statements, the industry, in its own interest, should act to encourage whistle-blowers.”
The Government of Canada is committed to safeguarding the long-term health and productivity of Canada’s fisheries resources, and the habitat that supports them, for generations to come. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a mandate to protect and conserve marine resources and to prosecute offenders under the Fisheries Act. It ensures and promotes compliance with the Act and other laws and regulations through a combination of land, air, and sea patrols, as well as education and awareness activities. As part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s work to end illegal activity, the Department asks the public for information on activities of this nature or any contravention of the Fisheries Act and regulations. Anyone with information can call the toll-free violation reporting line at 1-800-465-4336.
</section>

 

[searun]

Very impressed to see commercial fishers taking appropriate action to ensure one of their own was stopped dead in his tracks. This hurts everyone.

 

[GLG]

A man has been found guilty of selling black market halibut in Dawson Creek.
A Nanaimo court convicted Scott Stanley Matthew Steer for multiple counts of breaching fishing law late last month.
Court documents state that in July of 2010, Steer was offered the position of master of the Pacific Titan, a 50-foot fishing boat. Court documents state that the people who owned the partnership that owned the Titan, Jim Heras and Richard Beauvais, knew Steer as "an experienced and skilled fishing master."
Beauvais also stated that he had heard rumours that Steer had sold fish illegally before, and impressed upon that it was important to follow the rules of fishing while they were in his employ.
"When they told him that, Mr. Steer laughed at them and said there were 'two sets of rules,'" court documents state.
The documents go on to say that Steer agreed to abide by the rules while commanding the Titan, but Jim Heras’ son, Chris, who also attended the meeting, doubted Steer's sincerity.
From July to October, 2010, Steer went on three fishing trips throughout the U.S. and Canada, but came back with less fish than his employers expected, according to court records.
The same record said that he told his employers that he caught less fish than expected because he spent less at time at sea because he wanted to spend more time with his children, as he was involved in a matrimonial dispute at the time.
However, Crown prosecutors would go on to claim that more was going on than just what Steer said.
On Sept. 30 and Oct. 3 of 2010, court records show that a cell phone belonging to "John Renton" sent text messages to arrange for the transportation and sale of frozen sablefish and halibut fillets to Dawson Creek.
One text message from “John Renton,” a newly registered number, was sent to a Dawson Creek woman whom Steer had known for many years, Jill Peterson, and Renton offered Peterson a commission if she could arrange for sales to others, a suggestion that the Dawson Creek woman found to be offensive.
After the sales were completed, fisheries officers attended the Petersons home and seized the fish, alleging it to have been caught and/or sold illegally.
The reason that this fishing was illegal was because they were not done under the type of licence that the Pacific Titan had. Once the fish were caught, they were not reported to the vessel owners or the regulatory authorities, and transported and sold by Steer’s agents, the Crown alleged.
Court documents state that Peterson was upset by the allegation, as “she had been a commercial fisher for many years and wanted nothing to do with illegal sales of fish.”
When she told Steer about this, Steer allegedly said to Ms. Peterson to keep her mouth shut.
“If you don’t’ (sic) say anything, you can’t get in trouble and neither can I.”
Police later arrested Steer. When they arrested Steer, they found “John Renton’s” cell phone. Later, investigators determined that the locations of the cell phone towers connected to Renton’s cell phone were consistent with the position of the Titan.
Judge Ted Gouge later admitted that there was no direct evidence that John Renton was an alias Steer used, but that the circumstantial evidence and similar kinds of text messages were enough to determine that they were sent by the same person.
Court documents also stated that Steer had gone on a second fishing trip during October and Nov., 2010. According to the testimony of one crewmember, a German immigrant named only as “Mr. Spika,” the Titan fished for halibut under Steer’s command.
Later, John Renton offered 10 whole halibut for a sale at a price of $80 each.
Court documents state that in some incidents Steer asked the crew to take large quantities of frozen fish, carry them to his truck under the cover of darkness, and did so without a designated groundfish observer present.
According to the licence granted to the Titan, this observer needed to be present, court documents suggest.
Another crewmember, identified only as “Mr. Newhook,” testified as saying he was concerned that there was no groundfish observer. The reason this was an issue was because the crew members’ pay is based on the share of the value of the catch, calculated by reference to weight of landed fish as reported by a designated groundfish observer, court records state.

This meant that crewmembers were being underpaid. When Newhook confronted Steer about this, Steer said that he was taking them without a supervisor, “but that he was only taking a few.”
Newhook said that it was more than that – about 500 to 1,000 pounds on each of the three occasions.
In the end, Steer was found guilty of three counts of not maintaining a harvest log of his fishing operations, two counts of selling or offering fish caught without a licence, and multiple instances of contravening a condition of his commercial fishing licence.
Online court records show that Steer’s sentencing is set for July 29.
http://www.dawsoncreekdailynews.ca/...CREEK/fishing-for-trouble&template=JQMArticle

 

[Last Chance]

Good on him

 

[profisher]

This is someone that has no respect for fish or fishing laws. Why only a 10 year ban on fishing? Is this someone you can ever trust in that industry? It should have been a lifelong ban. Otherwise good to see these people being prosecuted and spending some time in jail.

 

[Pippen]

Somehow me thinks that he'll make the news again before his 10 year prohibition is up.