The group's vehicles, dive gear and all of the paua were seized and serious charges are likely to be laid under the Fisheries Act after the incident on the south coast of Kaikoura.
Fisheries New Zealand district manager Marlborough and Canterbury, Stuart Moore, said the recreational paua fishery is closed for the season, so taking paua is prohibited.
"Our fishery officers responded to a call on our poacher phone line.
"To make matters worse, the three divers refused to allow us to inspect their catch.
"One of the three had a knife on his belt, placed his hand on it, and said they were leaving with the paua.’’
"With the assistance of New Zealand police, we stopped the three people the following day in the Amberley area and found 460 paua - many undersize - in their vehicles.
Moore said fishery officers work hard to protect the shared fisheries and "will not be intimidated by this sort of behaviour".
"We’re grateful to our colleagues at Police for backup and support.
"The rules are there for a reason and when we find evidence of them being broken – we take action," Moore says.
To report suspected illegal seafood taking, phone the ministry's 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 47 62 24).
