Only two of the 260 paua were unshucked meaning they could not be returned to the water.

Fisheries officers have made the largest paua bust in the Auckland region in more than a decade.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) found four people in possession of 260 paua, 258 of which were shucked and all of which were undersized.

MPI south Auckland team manager Jacob Hore said the two junior fisheries officers were on a late shift patrol in West Auckland earlier this week when they came across a car they considered to be in a suspicious location near Cornwallis Wharf.

"They felt something wasn't quite right so waited for the occupants to come back then pulled the vehicle over as it left the area."

What they found was hundreds of undersized paua.

"The officers seized all the paua and the dive gear used in the alleged offending.

"Unfortunately, the paua were all dead because they had been removed from their shells when our officers found them. They were taken back to the office to be weighed, measured and stored for evidential purposes.

"If they had still been in the shell, the officers would have measured them at the scene and returned them to the sea."

Hore said it was the largest paua bust in Auckland in more than 10 years.

"It is likely that all the people who the officers found in the car will face regulation charges and charges under the Fisheries Act."