A reminder to stop pillaging shellfish and stick to the gathering limits.

It comes after a woman had her vehicle seized when she was caught with 672 cockles at Auckland's Eastern Beach last week - an area where collecting shellfish is illegal.

Mike Simmons is the Ministry for Primary Industries' North Harbour compliance manager.

He says it's vital people in Auckland and Coromandel adhere to the cockle-gathering limit of 50 per person per day.

"Firstly, there'd be no more shellfish gathering for the public, but then it'd also have an effect on the food chain right through to the other fisheries and other species of fish."