Otago Regional Hunting Report - 24 April 2025

In this issue:

• Welcome
• Season prospects – around the region
• Get your eye in
• Hunting tips
• Photo competition
• Recipe competition
• Compliance
• Mallard monitoring
• Australasian shoveler
• Paradise shelduck
• Avian botulism and bird flu
• Fish & Game managed wetlands
• Local regulations
• Weather outlook

Welcome

Season Prospects – Around the Region

The Opening Day on Saturday, May 3, is less than a week away.

All in all, the Otago outlook for 2025 is promising. The duck breeding period had prolonged wet conditions — good for ducklings. We are hearing anecdotal reports of good populations of ducks across the region:

• In Central Otago, large numbers of mallards were observed on some ponds yesterday.
• In the Manitototo, good numbers of ducks are being seen on the upper Taieri River, which is starting to look fuller after several dry months in that area. A challenge hunting at traditional maimais on small ponds is the increasing number of large irrigation ponds. Some of these do not get shot and provide a haven for ducks.
• Around the Taieri, hunters and farmers are commenting on good numbers of ducks on the river system and certain paddocks. Hunters are also reporting good numbers on large water bodies such as lakes Waihola, Waipori and Tuakitoto. They will be counting on windy conditions to move birds around.
• The Milton area is seeing large mobs of mallards moving on and off paddocks. Fish & Game has contacted the owners of local industrial and government sites to request assistance with disturbing ducks off private, unshot ponds on Opening Day to help hunters in the area.
• In South Otago yesterday Fish & Game observed large mobs on ponds near Balclutha.
• In West Otago, large numbers of ducks are being reported on ponds and on harvested grain paddocks.
• In South Otago, a recent video showed a huge mob of ducks in the Clinton area.
• The Fish & Game managed wetland at Takitakitoa is holding more water than this time in the previous two years.

As always, Opening Weekend success will also depend on the wind and rain.

Get Your Eye In

With one weekend to go before Opening Day, there’s still time to sharpen up your shooting skills. Sporting clay shoots are a great way to get ready for duck shooting.

You just need to take your gun, hearing and eye protection. ​When you arrive, park at the car park and head into the main building where there will be a sign-up desk.  From there you will be put into squads and given a schedule for the day. Spectators are welcome and there are toilets on site.

Wanaka Duckshooters Shoot – sponsored by Southern Wild Wanaka

• Friday 25 April
• Noon start
• Wanaka Gun Club, 542 Lake Hawea - Albert Town Road
• Contact: Warren Batchelar
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 021 591 122

Duck Shooters Clay Shoot Dunedin Hunting & Fishing

• Sunday 27 April, 10am start
• 25 Target Compact Field
• 25 Target Skeet/Rabbit Field
• 5 Man Team Flurry Event
• Novelty ‘Last Man Standing’ Competition
• Demo shotguns available to try
• BBQ lunch for purchase
• Dunedin Clay Target Club, 395 Brighton Road, Waldronville
• Contact: Dunedin Hunting & Fishing
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone (03) 477-6665

West Otago Duck Shooters Clay Shoot

• Sunday 27 April, 1pm start
• West Otago Gun Club, Station Rd, Tapanui
• Contact: Adrian McIntyre
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 027 202 3313

Hunting Tips: Duck Hunting Ammo in 2025

Almost all hunters have now accepted the reality that non-toxic/non-lead ammunition is here to stay for waterfowling in New Zealand – right down to the smallest 410, writes Hawkes Bay Fish & Game councillor and NZ Hunting Adventures guru Greg Duley.

There are two important criteria you need to meet with any shotgun/load combination to be sure of putting pellets through the vital organs of your birds: pattern density and penetration

US ballistics research has come up with the following rule of thumb criteria for both pattern density and penetration/shot size with steel shot:

• You need an absolute minimum of 90 pellets in a 30 inch circle at any range to ensure a good chance you’ll hit a vital area on mallard size ducks.
• You need the minimum penetration achieved by a #3 steel pellet at 45 yards to ensure puncturing vital organs.

So simply, a 3 inch 1¼ oz load of #3s containing a nominal 191 pellets doing about 1400fps is the best all round duck load out to 45 yards. This covers by far the vast majority of shooting situations.

Read Greg’s full article on how to get the best out of your shotgun/load in the latest Fish & Game magazine, Special Issue 60, online here: Steel is Real 20 Years On

Shot of the Season: Otago Game Bird Photo Competition

Show us your best photo shots from the great outdoors!

Otago's game bird season isn't just about the harvest — it's about the memories made and stories shared. This season, we're celebrating the photographers among our hunting community with the "Shot of the Season" photo competition generously sponsored by Dunedin Hunting & Fishing NZ.

Every fortnight, we'll select one outstanding photo that captures the essence of game bird hunting in Otago. Each featured photographer will go into the running for a grand duck hunters prize pack valued at $250 to be announced at the season close.

Whether it's the perfect morning light across the wetlands, your trusty hunting companion on the job, a burst of upland action, or a proud moment with your harvest — we want to see it all!

Share your passion for the hunt and be in to win.

Submit your entries:

• Email: [email protected]
• Subject line: Photo competition
• A brief caption describing the photo including names (from left) of any people or pawed hunting buddies.

Fortnightly winners featured every second Thursday throughout the season.

Recipe Competition: Put your Wild Kai to the Test!

Got a special way in the kitchen with mallards? A tantalising technique for parries? Show off your culinary skills in our Game Bird Recipe Competition!

Every two weeks during hunting season, we'll award a copy of The Fish + Game Cookbook by Angelo Georgalli to the hunter with the most impressive game bird recipe. Whether it's a family recipe passed down for generations or your own creative invention, we want to see how you transform your wild kai from field to table.

Simply submit:

• Email: [email protected]
• Subject line: Recipe competition.

Including:

• Your name
• Your recipe
• A photo of your prepared dish,
• A brief story about your hunt.

Entries must be received by midnight every second Sunday.

New winners announced fortnightly! Good hunting and better cooking!

Compliance

Fish & Game rangers will be checking compliance at private and public hunting locations across Otago on Opening Weekend. If you encounter rangers:

• Please make your firearm safe.
• Present your game bird licence when requested.
• Follow the rangers’  instructions.

Mallard Monitoring

Otago Fish & Game has suspended aerial mallard counting flights this year to review monitoring practices and be responsible with our resources.

This year Otago Fish & Game is changing our mallard monitoring approach.

• After analysing years of data between annual aerial counts and harvest surveys in Otago, we've found the numbers don't correlate.
• A large mallard count doesn't necessarily mean a big harvest, and vice versa.
• We don't yet know why this is but recognising the vital importance of being responsible with our resources, we have suspended preseason aerial flights this year.
• Instead, we're working at a national level to review best practices for game bird monitoring.
• We will keep licence holders informed of next steps.
• We will continue long-term harvest surveys this season. Don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from us, asking about your individual success.

Australasian Shoveler/Kuruwhengi

The Otago bag limit for shoveler is one drake per day this 2025 season.

• Concerns over a slight long-term decline in the national shoveler monitoring programme prompted the Otago Fish & Game Council to reduce bag limits ahead of last season from two shovelers per day to only one drake.
• This proactive measure proved effective, with Otago’s 2024 harvest dropping from about 1600 shoveler annually, or 24% of the national total, to under 400 birds, representing around 8%.

Paradise Shelduck/Putangitangi

• Fish & Game counted record high numbers of paradise shelduck during January moult trend counts across Otago Region.
• There was a botulism outbreak at Waikouaiti wastewater treatment in January to February — thankfully, the outbreak is now over.
• An estimated 1700 birds died, many of them paradise shelducks. This was not related to avian flu.
• Please be sensitive to the area around East Otago but know there are plenty of paradise shelducks across the region.

Avian Influenza

There's a risk of avian influenza occurring in New Zealand.

• While Fish & Game is not the lead agency for HPAI, we're working with MPI.
• Avian influenza could have a devastating impact on bird populations.
• If you see three or more unexplained dead birds, report it to the MPI hotline on 0800 80 99 66  and do not touch them.
• Keep your pets away as well.
• Select here for more information.

Fish & Game Managed Wetlands

Takitakitoa Wetland thriving with water and wildlife in March this year.

Otago Fish & Game region has six managed wetlands where licence holders can hunt game birds: Takitakitoa, Inch Clutha, Toko Reserve, Otokia, Waitapeka, and Paerau.

• Hunting locations have been balloted to junior and novice hunters for the first nine days of the 2025 season. This allows a fair period of uninterrupted hunting for ballot holders.
• Casual permits will be available from May 12, 2025.
• To apply for a casual permit, please select here.
• For more details on game bird hunting in Otago, including Fish & Game managed wetlands, select here.

Dunedin Weather Outlook

Credit: www.yr.no.

At the time of writing the extended forecast for Dunedin on Opening Day was partly cloudy with moderate westerlies.

Make sure you check the latest and updated forecasts to plan you hunt.                       

Click here for the latest weather updates from MetService, or visit the Windy or Yr.No websites to track conditions coming our way.

Local Regulations

Planning to hunt in another region? Be sure you know the local regulations.

• Each region has its own set of regulations working in conjunction with the national regulations.
• These include bag limits and season lengths.

Download regulation booklets for each individual region from the Fish & Game website by selecting here.

Grab your hunting licence online and let the adventures begin.

Got any Otago Game Bird Hunting News?

Send your hunting news and photos (with hunters’ names) to [email protected] for consideration in the Regional Hunting Report.