Almost three-thousand cockles and 150 undersized paua have been released back into the sea after interventions by authorities

Fisheries NZ officers were alerted to groups of people at Eastern Beach in Auckland over the weekend gathering shellfish in an area clearly signposted it's prohibited.

One man was found loading over two-thousand cockles into his vehicle.

One group told the officers they didn't know their actions were illegal -- despite 16 signs in the area saying so.

They aren't the only ones either, officers have returned to the beach several more times, finding several groups gathering cockles illegally, including some hiding them under a large inflatable toy.

In Hawke's Bay's Mahia, a group of fishermen were found with 156 undersized paua in their haul.