A scuba diver who drowned off Brighton Beach this week was found with a large, illegal quantity of abalone.

Police said a 30-kilogram bag of abalone was attached to the body of Andrew Houston, which was found in shallow water about 50 metres off Brighton Beach on Monday, after an extensive air and water search.

The 51-year-old father of three from Carnegie had been missing since Sunday afternoon. His car was still parked in the Brighton Baths car park, where his distraught family waited as his body was retrieved. Autopsy results will not be known for a few weeks, police say.

Mr Houston was an experienced diver who regularly dived off the reef, near Brighton Baths. He made the news in 2011 when a small Port Jackson shark latched onto his leg off Elwood beach. He swam back to shore with the shark attached and a passer-by helped him prise off the shark, which swam away.