Jone Porter, education director of the SA Association for Marine and Biological Research, said there had been reports of them being washed up in the Atlantic Ocean at Gansbaai, near Hermanus.
She said the SA Shark Conservancy was involved in collection efforts in the waters famous for whales.
Their office was closed for the holidays and they could not be reached for comment.
Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets used to make plastic goods.
They can be harmful to marine life, which can easily mistake them for food.
Tons of nurdles spilled into the sea from a burst container that was believed to have fallen off a ship during the storm that savaged Durban harbour in October.
A massive clean-up followed along the KwaZulu-Natal coast. Durban beaches were declared “nurdle free” before the beginning of the holiday season.