Arrangements for the 2019 duck hunting season, including changes to the season length and daily bag limit, have been outlined by the Game Management Authority.
The GMA, Victoria’s independent statutory authority responsible for the regulation of game hunting in the State, had advised the Victorian Government that a modified season was necessary to reduce the seasonal harvest, to ensure duck hunting was conducted responsibly and duck numbers remain sustainable.
This follows the prevailing dry conditions across eastern Australia that had reduced duck numbers, breeding and wetland habitat in Victoria.
The 2019 duck hunting season will be modified from 12 to nine weeks, commencing on Saturday, March 16, and closing on Sunday, May 19.
Hunters will be restricted to four game ducks per day on the opening weekend, with a five game duck per day bag limit to be enforced for the remainder of the nine-week season.
The hunting of Blue-winged Shoveler will again be prohibited throughout the entire season.
As per last year, hunting on the opening weekend of the 2019 season will commence at 9am on Saturday and 8am on Sunday across the whole of Victoria as part of a two-year trial of opening the season during daylight hours.
For the rest of the season, hunting times will revert to the standard period of half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.
The settings for the 2019 duck season are based on analysis of habitat and waterbird surveys conducted across eastern Australia and other data relating to game duck abundance, habitat distribution and climate.
The GMA wished to remind hunters of the laws introduced last year requiring them to immediately retrieve all game ducks they shoot and to at least salvage the breast meat from a duck to ensure that harvested game is not wasted.
The GMA and the Victoria Police, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions and Parks Victoria, will be monitoring this.
