Central South Island Fish & Game officer Rhys Adams said opening day, which was always the first Saturday in May, was a much-anticipated event around New Zealand, "famed for reconnecting friends and family and providing a few free-range duck dinners".
Hunters should have their location for opening weekend sorted and mai mais scrubbed-up in advance so they were poised and ready when the season opened at 6.45am on May 7, Mr Adams said.
"It is critical to organise ammunition and hearing protection, inspect and oil shotguns — and have delegated the role of supplying the bacon and egg pie and thermos full of coffee and hot chocolate."
Fish & Game’s pre-season population monitoring indicated that North Otago hunters should expect to encounter moderate numbers of mallard ducks, while paradise shelduck numbers would be high in localised areas, he said.
Fish & Game rangers would be active over opening weekend and hoped to encounter better compliance than the opening of the 2021 season, when several hunters were found hunting without a licence and using lead shot over open water in the Mackenzie Basin and upper Waitaki Valley, Mr Adams said.
Hunters were also reminded to buy their game bird hunting licence and review the rules and bag limits for their area.
All game bird hunting offences are criminal offences and can result in seizure of equipment, conviction in the district court, fines and other legal costs.
The Central South Island Fish & Game duck season runs until July 31 for the hunters’ favourite species, mallard duck and paradise shelduck, with a 50-bird daily limit for mallard and 25 for paradise shelduck.
There is a variety of waterfowl to hunt, including Pukeko, black swan and New Zealand shoveler duck. Upland game species of Californian quail and chukar can also be hunted in the North Otago area.
