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.
It is an offence to take, land or possess any of the following fish, which is less than the size specified – Guernsey Sea Fisheries
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.
A person shall have ormers in their possession only on the day of a new or full moon and the four days following and on the first or second day of May, provided in each case that he can prove that the ormer was taken on a permitted day. This does not apply to preserved ormers. Preserved ormers are ormers which have been cooked or pickled, not deep-frozen – Guernsey Sea Fisheries
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.
READ MORE…
Ormering: Your guide to the 2024 season