Hawke's Bay Both Barrels April 2019

Prospects 'bright' for game bird season

Winter and spring produced plenty of water and set up the region for a good waterfowl breeding.

Even with a dry end to summer, many ponds and lakes throughout the region held healthy levels of water right through.

This has been great for the region's waterfowl populations.

Not only did it provide plenty of habitat for breeding but the water hung around to provide rich food sources into summer, allowing adult birds to put condition back on after the hard moulting period.

We’ve just had a little bit of rain in mid-April with more likely, so everyone’s duck hunting spots should have plenty of water for opening weekend.

Game bird newsletter & magazine

The Fish & Game magazine went out a little later this season, but our newsletter went out early, so you've had plenty of reading to get the excitement levels up before the new game bird season.

If you haven't received a copy of either one, please call into the office to collect a free copy or phone the office and we can post one out to you.

Safety first

Firearms are a huge topic in New Zealand at the moment and this will place duck hunters under even more scrutiny this season.

It is essential that as a hunting and firearms licence-holding community, we show the public that we practice our sport in a very safe and respectful manner.

This means that apart from abiding by the new gun laws, following the seven basic rules of firearms safety to the letter.

Hunters must also abide by the Fish & Game hunting Code of Conduct as found in your Regulation Guide.

Licences, rules & regs

The only significant change to the region's regulations is that the paradise shelduck season has been extended by two weeks, to finish on July 28^th.

All other species' regulations have stayed the same.

The mallard/grey season is set at six weeks with a bag limit of 10 birds.

Don’t forget that the hunting hours were reduced, so there is no hunting after 6pm.

Please be sure to check your regulation guide to keep yourself up to date with all the rules & regs.

Recipes on Facebook

We will be posting a number of game bird recipes on our regions Facebook page over the season, so be sure to ‘Like’ our page to get some new recipe ideas and impress family and friends around the dinner table.

Good luck...

Whenever you’re going on a hunt over the game bird season, make sure you do so with safety and respect for others and the quarry you're hunting firmly in mind.

And finally, from all of us at the Hawke's Bay Fish & Game, have fun out there this season, good luck, hot barrels and be safe!

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