The hides are ready, the shotguns are oiled and duck hunters heading out early for the season’s open day on Saturday.
This year, the duck shooting season runs from 3 May to 27 July, with the first shots on opening morning allowed from 6.30am.
Nelson-Marlborough Fish and Game officer, Lawson Davey, says local hunters might have to work hard for their ducks though and many head out of the region for opening weekend to find more ducks.
“It’s probably going to be fairly patchy, depending on where you are. Hunters will need to do some reconnaissance rather than just going out to their hides and expecting the ducks to be there.
“The duck population isn’t what it was 20 to 30 years ago. Change of land use means there’s less pasture now and they don’t eat grapes and hops. It’s getting harder and harder and about 30 per cent of our hunters hunt out of the region for opening weekend.”
He says there used to be 60 to 70 duck hunters around the Waimea Inlet, but nowadays, between cycleways, walkways and less birds, there’s probably less than a dozen.
“There’s still ducks there, but it is quite hard hunting and you have to put in a bit more effort and do a bit of door knocking.”
He says hunters will be hoping for a bit of wind on opening morning because ducks fly a bit lower and decoys look more life-like as they bob on the water.
Fish and Game officers will also be out and about to check hunters have their licences on them and are abiding with regulations.
