Both Barrels June 2021

Northland has had some nice rain over the last few weeks. It’s good to see our wetlands replenished after many months of low water levels.

Forestry permits and upland game

We are very fortunate to have access to many forestry blocks throughout Northland covering thousands of hectares. 

Northland Forest Managers, Rayonier/Matariki Forests and Hancock Forests allow access for upland game hunting.

A permit for designated areas in all these forests is $50.

You will be provided with the permit, high-quality access maps and public liability insurance.

Hunting is usually restricted to the weekends. 

You have until 29 August to make use of this underutilised resource.  

Please email the office at northland@fishandgame.org.nz

Important dates:

The mallard, grey and shoveler season closes on 27 June.

The paradise shelduck and swan season closes on 1 August.

The pukeko, quail and pheasant season closes on 29 August.   

Upcoming events:

We have two planting days scheduled for late July.

Underwood wetland development 29 July

Greenheart wetland 31 July

Underwood Wetland: This will see the new ponds planted out and will complete stage one of the project.

The plants have been funded by the Game Bird Habitat Trust and the government’s billion trees program.

Greenheart Wetland: We are planting the final riparian strip at the Greenheart Wetland. 

This will see the completion of 6km of fencing along the Wairua and Mangakahia river confluences.

Harvest results and game returns

If you have hunted on any Fish & Game wetland or forestry block please remember to fill out a game bird return and send it to the office.

We will also be conducting a couple more hunter surveys to capture data from the end of the season.

We collate the results to calculate how many birds were taken over the game season and in conjunction with the trend counts use this to determine bag limits and season lengths for next year.

Warm Barrels,

Graham Gallaghan, Northland Fish & Game Officer.