Melissa Dawn Larocque (Steer) was given a $30,000 fine after being found guilty of not providing the proper documents to fisheries officers while involved in the sale of seafood in 2020 and 2021. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

fisheries act

‘Deplorable:’ fishing violations net $30,000 fine for Gabriola Island woman

Dec 15, 2025 | 5:31 AM

NANAIMO — A Gabriola Island woman was fined for making around $300,000 selling seafood, but refusing to provide the proper documentation.

Melissa Dawn Larocque (Steer), 40, was fined $30,000 fine in provincial court in Nanaimo on Wednesday, Dec. 10, in relation to a 2021 charge of failure to comply with fishery officers.

During sentencing, judge Tamara Hodge said Larocque’s behaviour was “completely inappropriate and deplorable” by not providing the information to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) officers.

“She didn’t provide it in the timeframe that was requested, and she didn’t ever provide it, at least within the three years prior to the trial occurring. And why that is so egregious in this type of offence is because the whole point of what the DFO is trying to do in gaining that information is to manage our very limited resource that is for everyone.”

Her husband, Scott Steer, is currently serving a six-year jail sentence after being found guilty in BC Supreme Court in July on eight different charges related to the illegal fishing and sale of sea cucumbers in 2019 and 2020.

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Larocque acted as the sole representative of the numbered company, 1215419 B.C. LTD, tied to his operation, and used forged documents to convey the sea cucumbers were legally harvested.

The sentencing judge at the time said Larocque “was fully involved in this deceptive and invasive plan.”

Judge Hodge said while technically Larocque is a first-time offender for the provincial charge, she is no stranger to DFO regulations.

“Being the sole secretary and president of a numbered company dealing with fisheries, and being a person who would have applied for fishing licences and the like, she should have known that there are regulations she needs to comply with, and she failed to do that.”

The sentencing decision for the supreme court case was imposed after she was charged in relation to this incident.

Both Steer and Larocque are well acquainted to the B.C. court system. Steer currently serving a six-year jail sentence after being found guilty on numerous charges related to the illegal fishing and sale of sea cucumbers in 2019 and 2020. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Provincial Charges
Court heard Larocque applied for a fish receiver license under the numbered company in 2020 and 2021.

She signed an advance payment and product guarantee on behalf of another one of the couple’s companies, Shore to Door Seafood Products Inc., to receive $40,000 in advance to provide a Richmond-based company with crab, prawns, and other seafood.

Between March and July 2021, Shore to Door invoiced the company almost $300,000.

The invoices also included the company 1215419 BC Ltd., and Giant Red Sea Cucumber Producers, with all three businesses using their Gabriola Island home as the mailing address.

Bank transfers were directed to the numbered company.

In September 2021, DFO officers served a demand notice to Larocque and Steer, requiring them to provide the appropriate documents detailing seafood transactions for the year by Oct. 1.

They failed or refused to provide the information, and both were charged and found guilty during a trial in July.

Hodge said it’s impossible to assess the full extent of the harm done by her actions due to the lack of documents, with the $300,000 in invoices likely only making up part of the story.

“The whole point of DFO, the main push there is to manage that resource, and by not providing this information, it’s impossible to know the impact on the fishery, and it was the inaction and the blatant disregard for the request that came through from the DFO officer by Ms. Larocque.”

Larocque did not personally address the court during sentencing.

Her lawyer, Babak Zargarian, told the court she does accept responsibility.

“She does accept the judgment, she is remorseful. It’s a strict liability offence, she should have complied, there’s no reason not to,” said Zargarian.

He said while the fine is significant, it’s not “crushing”, as Larocque is raising five children and is already facing significant monetary penalties, including an over $1 million fine from the supreme court ruling, and over $1.6 million in back taxes.

Larocque has five years to pay her most recent fine, while she has 10-year fishing ban in place from the supreme court case.

Co-accused Steer remains incarcerated and will be sentenced for this incident next year.

Anyone with information on any illegal fishing activities is asked to call Fisheries and Oceans Canada toll-free at 1-800-465-4336 or email them at: DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

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