A concerned Lake Illawarra resident is calling for a moratorium on cockle fishing over summer given people were spotted collecting more than their fair share of the mollusc on the weekend.
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John Davey saw several groups of fishers start taking cockles from 8.30am on Sunday at the back channel of Bevans Island.
Mr Davey - who is also a community representative on the Lake Illawarra Estuary Management Committee - stopped a group of seven men who were walking with an Esky and buckets full of cockles.
He said the men told him they knew the limit was 50 cockles each but they "didn't care" that they had more before they "smirked and walked off".
"I am calling on the Minister for Agriculture to put in place a moratorium on cockle fishing in the lake over summer," Mr Davey said.
"The minister should also provide funding for the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries to conduct an in-depth analysis of the cockle population in the lake so we know whether 50 cockles per person is a sustainable amount.
"We don't know how many cockles there are so we don't know how many can be taken."
A spokesman for the Minister of Agriculture said there would not be an moratorium put in place.
A department spokeswoman said six formal cautions, one $500 penalty notice for possessing more than the limit, and a $200 penalty notice for failing to pay for a fishing licence were issued over the weekend.
"Forty four people were inspected over the weekend at Lake Illawarra with 8 of those not complying with rules," she said.
"Officers were able to attend to two of the reports from the Fishers Watch phone line with all persons inspected being compliant with the rules.
"The third report was unable to be responded to as a result of officers attending to another report of illegal fishing."
Three officers were patrolling the region on Saturday and four on Sunday.
In the New Year period, there was outrage from the community about excessive cockle fishing in Lake Illawarra, which prompted Shellharbour City Council and Shellharbour MP Anna Watson to write to the minister calling for a stop to the pillaging.
"Last summer, fisheries officers responded to many reports of illegal fishing and conducted numerous patrols at all hours of the night and day during that period," the spokeswoman said.
"A number of people were apprehended, with some having been issued fines, while others will face court.
"However officers found that the majority of fishers were abiding by the fishing rules and regulations."
Mr Davey said the fisheries officers were "committed' but did not enough resources to warn and issue fines for over fishing in the lake.
The spokeswoman said fisheries officers would continue to patrol Lake Illawarra and the greater Illawarra region.
"An operation has been planned to focus on intertidal invertebrate collecting in the Illawarra Region, of which Lake Illawarra will be a focus due to its popularity for fishers to take cockles," she said.
He said it was disappointing to see the lake being stripped of cockles and had seen people use pitchfork and rakes to collect the mollusc, often at night.
"That could be destroying the seafloor and sea grass which is a food source," the Lake Illawarra Foreshore Improvement Group spokesperson said.
"It is also being trampled by the number of fishers."
Mr Davey said he could not understand how the state government wanted to create eco-tourism in Killelea but then allowed the "tragedy" of over fishing cockles to occur.
He said cockle fishing had also created "ill-will", "aggression" and "racism" in the community, which he did not tolerate, as many of the fishers were often from a Vietnamese background.
Department of Primary Industries states a person must have a fishing licence and can only collect 50 cockles and 20 welks each day.
The fisher has to collect the creatures themselves.
Children under 18 years of age do not require a licence and can collect 50 cockles and 20 welks.
Reprimands for excessive fishing can range from a formal warning, a $500 on the spot fine or a notice to attend court.
Residents are reminded to contact the Department of Industry Fisheries to report suspected overfishing.
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