Authorities in New Zealand have imposed restrictions on marine foraging along parts of Auckland’s coastline after locals warned that popular rock pools are being stripped of wildlife by visitors seeking free seafood.
Over the last two years, the influx of ‘bucket people’ have surged after watching videos of influencers who posted their experiences on social media platform Xiaohongshu.
Some tour operators are advertising it as “Come to New Zealand for your free seafood buffet,” said the founder of environmental lobby group Protect Piha Rockpools, in a media report.
According to local residents, tour buses carrying 30 to 50 people regularly arrive at coastal sites, with visitors filling buckets with marine species found in rock pools. Some have been seen using hammers, chisels and even piano wire to remove marine life before cooking their catch on-site.
While recreational gathering is legal when catch limits are observed, conservation groups say many visitors are taking species that are not intended for consumption, including animals critical to the health of marine ecosystems.
The Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust has stepped in after visitors removed some 10,000 buckets of intertidal species on a weekly basis.
The trust said that these species are key to the infrastructure of the marine environment and not meant for eating. It added that the issue is also a nationwide one.
In response, local communities have distributed educational posters in Māori, Korean and Mandarin, urging visitors not to collect species such as starfish, hermit crabs, limpets and sea anemones.
Earlier in January, 500 residents held a demonstration in protest of the ecological destruction, with authorities since imposing a two-year temporary closure from March.
Visitors who break the rule of gathering shellfish and other marine species from the Whangaparaoa peninsula could face a fine of NZ$100,000 (US$57,900).