SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 27-year-old Inuk carver convicted of possessing a narwhal tusk without a licence could have faced a fine as high as $100,000 in territorial court on June 16.

Instead, Judge Brian Bruser accepted the artist's explanation that he was ignorant of the law and only fined him $500.

"It's an unusual matter. I've never seen a charge like that before," said Bruser before issuing the sentence.

On Nov. 27, 2010, an off-duty Fisheries and Oceans officer noticed a two-and-a-half metre narwhal tusk without a tag while she walked past the artist's booth at the Aurora Art Expo in Yellowknife, said Crown prosecutor Dan Rideout. The officer called the Yellowknife RCMP, who seized the tusk. On Dec. 1, the artist told the RCMP he received the tusk from a man in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, and that he didn't realize he needed a licence to possess the tusk.

The offender originally pleaded not guilty to the possession charge under the NWT Fisheries Act, but changed his plea on June 1, the day of his scheduled trial. The Crown dropped a second charge of illegally transporting the tusk from Nunavut to the Northwest Territories.

Rideout requested the $500 fine and the forfeiture of the tusk, both of which Bruser granted.

Rideout said the offence needed to be denounced and deterred. Narwhals are classified as a species of special concern - this is why a licence and a tag are necessary to ensure the mammal was killed in line with government quotas. Otherwise, without information on the tag, such as the name of the hunter and the day and place of the kill, there is no assurance the mammal was lawfully harvested, said Rideout.

Defence lawyer Hugh Latimer requested a conditional sentence on the grounds that a conviction would impede his client's ability to travel outside of Canada. The offender, whose passport is currently expired, has been to Europe several times representing the North and his Inuit heritage as an artist.

"He's an example of the cultural heritage of Inuit people," Latimer said. "It helps Canada if he's involved in these shows around the world."

Latimer said the artist, who makes between $40,000 and $50,000 a year as a carver, had an agreement with the rightful owner to carve the tusk. He added that his client believes the owner does have a tag that should have been on the tusk.

The offender apologized to the court, saying he did not know he needed a licence.

"I'm very sorry I'm going through this," he said. "I've learned my lesson through this and will tell my kids about this."

Even though Bruser accepted the man didn't know what the law was, he said the offender, as an experienced and a third-generation carver, should have known the law. He did not grant the request for a conditional discharge, meaning the offence will appear on the offender's criminal record.

After sentencing, the artist told Yellowknifer he was glad the matter is over with, and that there was nothing he could do because he wasn't the lawful owner of the tusk. Although not revealed in court, the man said the estimated value of the tusk was about $1,500.

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