Special season for hunting paradise shelduck

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 674, 18 February 1997, Page 5

Special season for hunting paradise shelduck

After field officers completed their January paradise shelduck trend counts of traditional bird moult sites the Taranaki Fish and Game Council at their meeting on Saturday, 8 February, once again voted to have a 16-day special season for the hunting of paradise shelduck in the Waimarino/Ruapehu and Wanganui regions. The season begins at 6.30am on Saturday 1 March and finishes at 7".30pm on Sunday 16 March. The bag limit has increased to 20 ducks per person per day in the Waimarino region but remains at five ducks per person in the Wanganui region. Field officer Greg Lydon says the special season is to manage the increasing population of paradise shelducks and is a bonus for hunters. "It's traditionally held at this time of year after the

young birds have moulted and well before the May gamebird hunting season. It's a good way of dispersing flocks of ducks which have become a nuisance in some areas." Taranaki region paradise populations are closely monitored using aerial and ground counts carried out when birds congregate for the annual moult. It takes staff a good week to count traditional trend sites in tandem with black swan and Canada goose counts. Current paradise shelduck numbers are high after a good spring breeding season and

some landowners consider the population too high in the Waimarino and Retaruke regions. "Hunters must have a game licence from last year, and are required to hold a diary permit. The diary scheme gives us information on what areas are being hunted, an accurate measurement of the number of ducks harvested and the success rate of duck shooters," said Mr Lyclon. Diary permits are available from the Fish and Game office at 1H Taupo Quay.