Science backs 75-day Victorian duck season: GMA sticks to 20 days

Scientists say Victoria’s duck season should be extended three times over. But the regulator is refusing to accept the findings.

The daily bag limit has been raised from two to five ducks, but hunters want to know why scientists’ calls to extend the season are being ignored. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Victoria’s 20-day duck season should be extended to 75 days, according to the Andrews Government’s own Arthur Rylah Institute researchers.

Last week the Victorian Government lifted its initial two-bird daily bag limit for the 2021 season to five birds, in response to a helicopter survey and abundance estimates that showed there were about 2.45 million ducks in Victoria.

But the Government and its Game Management Authority have ignored Arthur Rylah Institute researchers David Ramsey’s and Ben Fanson’s recommendation to extend the current 20-day season for 2021 to 75 days.

“For the desired harvest quota of 10 per cent of the estimated total game duck abundance (i.e., 245,200), the corresponding estimates of bag limit and season length suggests that a season length of 75 days and a bag limit of 5 would be consistent with this harvest quota,” the researchers reported.

“However, other combinations of season length and bag limit were also compatible with this level of offtake.”

Those combinations were listed as:

A daily bag limit of eight birds for a 30-day to 50-day season

A daily bag limit of six birds for a 50-day to 70-day season

A daily bag limit of five birds for a 70-day to 90-day season

A daily bag limit of four birds for a 90-day to 120-day season

The failure of Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio and Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas to agree on extending the season to at least 75 days has reinforced hunter concern that science was being ignored.

“Duck hunters have been concerned for many years that decisions are political, in support of the anti-duck hunting lobby,” Field and Game Australia executive director Dean O’Hara said.

The last full duck hunting season was in 2018, which ran for 87 days from March 17 to June 11.

Since then the Andrews Government has progressively cut back each season, to 64 days with a five-bird daily bag limit in 2019, then 38 days and three birds a day in 2020 before announcing a 20-day season and two-bird bag limit for 2021.

A GMA spokesman said while the bag limit had been lifted in response to the survey and abundance estimates, it was too late to bring forward the May 26 start to the current 20-day season nor extend it beyond June 14.

“The time needed to prepare for the season, including monitoring waterbird numbers and wetlands where there are rare or threatened species, prevents bringing the start of the season forward,” the spokesman said.

“Extending the season beyond the current closing date is also not possible because that enters a time when ducks are under pressure due to cold weather, natural food shortages and when they commence breeding, including pair bonding, nest building and egg laying.”

MORE

SHOOTERS DEMAND RELEASE OF BIRD SURVEY

OPINION: FORGET THRILL KILLING, HUNTING IS ABOUT FOOD