Both Barrels April 2026 - Central South Island

Welcome to the 2026 Game Bird Season

Opening Day is Saturday the 2^nd of May.

Image above: It's game on for the 2026 hunting season - credit Richie Cosgrove

It’s that time of year again, and the countdown is on! Fast approaching for many hunters is the much-anticipated opening weekend of the duck season. The occasion of opening weekend for many hunters stems far beyond the pure act of harvesting game birds, it is a time that brings family and friends together, where laughs are shared, and the ongoing debate of bacon and egg pie recipes continue.

A bonus for many hunters is the chance at taking home a free-range bird or three for the dinner table, all harvested by smart hunting and the icing on the cake – a bird retrieved by a well-trained gun dog.

If you haven’t yet purchased your licence, then grab your credit or debit card and click here or head down to your local licence agent and grab one with your supplies.

Many birds about?

Fish & Game Officer Nikki Dellaway surveys game bird populations at Wainono Lagoon' credit Jase Van Beers

Wainono pre-season game survey – April 2026

Mallard, paradise shelduck, and shoveler numbers were lower than observed in the previous season, although windy conditions on the day may have influenced bird distribution and detectability.

Black swan numbers were healthy and consistent with previous years observations.

Canterbury Plains/North Otago dabbling duck (mallard) survey – March 2026

Our Canterbury Plains surveys of mallard duck and paradise shelduck population undertaken in March observed healthy numbers – near the long-term average for mallard duck counts and the second to highest count on record for paradise shelduck

CSI Regional Paradise shelduck moult survey – January 2026

Paradise shelduck numbers remain stable throughout the region.

CSI Regional Black swan survey – January 2026

Annual population monitoring shows black swan numbers are relatively high throughout the region and we encourage hunters to target their daily bag limit of 5 black swan, to utilise this great harvest opportunity. Black swan are the largest game bird, with mature birds offering around 1.4kg of processed meat.

What do CSI hunters really think?

Hunters debriefing after a successful morning’s hunt credit Rhys Adams

During the 2025 game bird season Central South Island (CSI) Fish & Game undertook a hunter values survey to help us better understand the values and opinions of the region’s hunters.  The survey’s primary focus was to quantify hunters bag limit preferences, level of support for summer and extended seasons, proportionate use of public and private land, species preferences, and motivations to hunt. Three-hundred and fourty-three hunters or 17% of all adult whole season licence holders who hunt within the CSI Region completed the survey.

It came as little surprise that the typical CSI game bird hunter hunts on private land, prefers mallards and uses a dog to retrieve their game.

Hunters had a wide range of motivations to go hunting with the top five being a source of food, the social aspects, enjoyment, family time, and tradition. This highlighted the need to keep these values front of mind when making decisions that could impact on these values and when advocating the cultural benefits of game bird hunting to the wider public.  

When it came to daily bag limit preferences the majority of hunters preferred the current daily limits for Mallard and Shelduck. Despite Canada geese not being a game bird since 2011 they were the third most valued species for the region’s hunters behind mallard and paradise shelduck.   

Most hunters valued the opportunity provided by both the summer and extended hunting seasons. Therefore, based on CSI hunter opinion alone, there is no justification for a change to the current seasons or bag limits.  

The information collected from the survey will be referred to when Fish & Game is advocating for hunters, undertaking regulation reviews and for resource prioritisation. So, thank you to all the hunters who participated in the survey.

You can find the full report on the Fish & Game website - Central South Island Council Downloads.

Key findings:

• 88% of hunters utilise private land for hunting game birds
• 51% of hunters use dogs for retrieving their game
• Mallard is the most valued game bird species for hunters, followed by paradise shelduck. 
• Canada geese were the third most valued species for hunters, despite not being a game bird. 
• The top five reasons for hunting game birds were as a source of food, the social aspect, enjoyment, family time, and tradition.
• 62% of hunters value both the current summer and extended hunting seasons.
• 58% of hunters preferred the current 50-bird bag limit for mallard.
• 47% of hunters would support a proposed change to a 25-bird mallard daily bag limit.

Looking for a place to hunt after Opening Weekend?

One of CSI’s managed wetlands, All day Bay Lagoon credit Richie Cosgrove  

CSI Fish & Game administer hunting at four wetlands.

In just a few easy steps, you can hunt these wetlands.

These wetlands are balloted for Opening Weekend, but after Opening Weekend these wetlands can be hunted by all licence holders, provided you obtain a permit first and if required, contact the landowner prior to hunting.

Click here to jump on our website to check out the wetland maps and info.

While there, save a permit application form, fill it in and email it to us, or alternatively get in direct contact with the office.

CSI Fish & Game contacts: email [email protected] or phone 03 6158400.

Check out this YouTube video of what is on offer at our Fish & Game Wainono Wetland Reserve.

Check your ammunition

Check your ammo credit Richie Cosgrove 

Despite twenty years of prohibiting hunters from possessing lead ammunition within 200 metres of water, rangers still encountered four hunters in breach of this rule on Opening Weekend last season.

A common mistake hunters make is storing both their steel and lead ammunition in the same ammo box or container. Even if you don’t intend to use lead shot, simply having it in your possession within 200 metres of water is still an offence.

We strongly encourage you to check through your shot gun ammunition stores and separate lead ammunition from non-toxic steel ammunition to avoid any inadvertent offending.

Typically, steel ammunition, has “STEEL” written on the cartridge case – making it a straightforward task to identify steel ammunition.

If the cartridge case doesn’t have STEEL written on it, treat it as lead.

Watch this video HERE for helpful advice about separating your lead and steel to avoid offending.

2026 hunting regulations – CSI Region

Be sure to familiarise yourself with the 2026 regulations guide – available online here.

There are no changes to the local Central South Island Region regulations for the 2026.

If you need any regulation clarified please get in touch with a staff member here at our Temuka Office - PH: 03 615 8400, E: [email protected]

 

Good luck out there,

Blake Harper, Fish & Game Officer