DUCK hunters would be restricted to just four game birds per day next year under recommendations put forward by the game hunting regulator.
Game Management Authority (GMA) told the State Government hunters should be allowed to kill four birds per day, the same rules put on hunters this year.
“The experts recommended to regulate the bag limit, rather than season length, if there was a need to restrict seasonal harvest,” the report, released on Tuesday, said.
“The interim harvest model, which considers the relationship between game duck abundance and the extent of habitat throughout eastern Australia, recommends a daily bag limit of four ducks.
“This is influenced by low (to) moderate duck abundance, recent drought conditions from 2017-19, benign conditions in the Lake Eyre Basin and the time it takes populations to recover and grow.”
According to the GMA report, although having increased from the previous year, the waterbird abundance index was below the long-term average.
“The Eastern Australia Waterbird Survey (EAWS) index of game duck abundance for eastern Australia has declined from 2021 and is the third lowest recorded in 40 years, or 25 per cent of the long-term average,” the report said.
Field and Game Australia outlined its initial reaction, saying it was extremely disappointed in the results gained from the interim harvest model.
In a statement, the hunting organisation said the four-bird daily bag limit recommendation created a “genuine concern” that a 10-bird bag limit will be unachievable or rarely achieved.
“The modelling … when applied to the previous 30 years indicates only two years of 10-bird bag limits, when in reality we had 13 years of 10-bird bag limits being delivered,” the statement said.
“This is a result of the inputs being driven by the Eastern Australia Waterbird Aerial Survey, which is not fit for the purpose of determining game bird seasons.
“Conservative bag limits may create hunter apathy and result in lower hunter participation.
“Many hunters will simply not travel for a lower bird bag.”
The statement said restrictions “may drive hunters across the border”.
