Dozens of mostly undersized crayfish have been poached from Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve in Gisborne by a group of "aggressive, loud and abusive" people.
It comes just one month after a group of people were sentenced for taking a large number of crayfish and kina from the same reserve.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) fishery officers caught six adults, with five children in possession of a large haul of illegally taken crayfish and kina from the reserve.
Fishery officers were extremely disappointed when they discovered the contents of a backpack belonging to the divers, MPI spokesman Adam Plumstead said.