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Sea Fisheries is investigating whether undersized ormers have been illegally collected during the recent low tides.
Photos were shared to social media earlier this week, showing shells measuring below the minimum size allowed for picking.
A spokesperson for Sea Fisheries confirmed they've been alerted.
"We are aware of this incident and are investigating the circumstances. Such incidents are not common occurrences, but Sea Fisheries is passed information from time to time."
The shells - and a bed of tin foil - were found near the fish quay in St Peter Port.
Scott Nelson said he found them at Castle Emplacement, where they looked like they had been thrown over the sea wall.
He wrote that the one he held measured below 40mm and the others were all below the legal size in his opinion.
The mimimum size an ormer must reach before anyone can pick it is 80mm.
Ormering is strictly controlled around Guernsey's coast line to protect stocks of the delicacy.
Ormers themselves are molluscs, and they can only be collected "on the days of the full moon, new moon and the two days following between January 1 and April 30 (inclusive) each year".
Ormering at nighttime is banned and you can't wear any diving or breathing apparatus such as a snorkel, diving suit, face mask or goggles while collecting the molluscs.
There are various other rules too including a ban on freezing ormers.
The minimum sizes for fish and shellfish are listed HERE and the rules around ormering can be read HERE.
There are three more ormering tides this month - 25, 26, and 27 March - and six in April - 8, 9, 10, 24, 25, and 26.
Ormering tides are very low tides with the lowest to come being 0.3m on 9 and 10 April.
In the past four years there have been at least three criminal cases go through the Channel Island's courts regarding undersized ormers.
In 2020, two men were fined £400 each after being caught with undersized ormers. A sea fisheries inspector had seen them at L'eree and the molluscs were returned to the sea after their size was confirmed as being too small.
In 2022, a 71-year-old man fell foul of the law on his first time ormering when he picked 25 undersized ormers. He was fined £750.
In Jersey in 2021, three men were fined £600 each after they were caught with seven undersized lobsters and 18 ormers outside of ormering season.
Ormering: Your guide to the 2024 season
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