Inland Fisheries Ireland officers have seized over 600 wild oysters from two vehicles after a large group of people were spotted illegally harvesting the molluscs at low tide in Kenmare Bay, Co Kerry.
Two more bags of wild oysters were recovered during a follow up search, bringing the total to over 1,000.
Many of the oysters were under the minimum (76mm) size for licensed harvesting.
Under legislation, the hand-picking or harvesting of oysters is illegal without a license.
IFI's South Western Director Sean Long said this would have been a significant loss to the local environment, which is a Special Area of Conservation.
The wild oysters have since been returned to the coast and the IFI said a prosecution file is being prepared.
