The owner of a Calgary-based fossil wholesale company was fined $7,000 for trying to illegally export gemstones and fossils to Japan, including fossils taken from the Burgess Shale site in Yoho National Park.

Terry Ciotka, owner and president of Pangea Fossils Ltd., pleaded guilty Monday to trafficking a living or dead plant or animal, or other naturally occurring object from a park — in this case Burgess Shale — under the Canada National Parks Act.

It’s believed to be the first conviction for the offence under this act in Canada, and came with a $4,000 fine.

Ciotka also pleaded guilty to two charges under the Cultural Property Export and Import Act for trying to export ammonites — extinct marine animals dating back 65 million years — and ammolite gemstones, which form around ammonite shells, without the proper permits and the correct valuations.

Each charge was accompanied with a $1,500 fine.

It’s not clear where the ammonites and ammolites were obtained from, but there are only two ammolite mines in Canada, both in Alberta.

RCMP said in August 2011, Ciotka and Pangea Fossils Ltd. tried to export the fossils, minerals and gemstones to Japan.

But the shipment caught the eye of Canada Border Services Agency officials, said department spokeswoman Lisa White.

“As an officer was routinely reviewing export papers for this shipment, they noted there was no indication of a permit, licence, certificate or any type of permission to export the items out of Canada,” White said.

There was also a massive discrepancy in the value of the items declared, added RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Patricia Neely.

Neely said the items were valued at a little over $83,000, but an independent review determined the shipment was actually worth a little over $475,000.

It’s not known how the fossils, minerals and gemstones were obtained, but Parks Canada staff are pleased with the outcome of the investigation.

Located just off Fossil Ridge between Mount Wapta and Mount Field, Burgess Shale contains fossils around 500 million years old and is considered by many to be one of the world’s most significant fossil locations.

“Burgess Shale is home to some of the planet’s very first modern animals,” said Parks Canada spokesman Omar McDadi. “Roughly 95 per cent of all animals today can trace their origins to the Burgess Shale.”

He said trafficking wild animals, plants or naturally occurring objects, living or dead, can come with a maximum fine of $25,000 for first-time offenders.

“We want to send the message that we take the protection of the Burgess Shale very seriously.”

This is not the first time specimens were illegally removed from the site.

In August 2011, two visitors from the Czech Republic made off with six slabs of rock, resulting in a daylong manhunt. One of the men tried to escape, jumped into the Kicking Horse River and had to be rescued.

The men were charged under the Canadian National Parks Act and each was slapped with a $115 fine.

cho@calgaryherald.com