Some observers, notably Dave Rave, a retired DNR waterfowl manager, argue the national duck-hunting season limits of 60 days with six ducks allowed daily is too permissive, and that mallards and other ducks could better be protected by shortening the season to 45 days, or 30.
Another possibility, Arnold says, is to open Minnesota’s regular duck season in October (rather than Sept. 21 this year, with a youth opener on Sept. 7-8), when hen and drake mallards can be more easily distinguished. Ending hunting in southern states in mid-January would also provide ducks valuable additional feeding and resting opportunities before returning north.
If Minnesota’s regular duck season began in October, the state’s early teal-hunting season could remain unchanged in September, because teal are relatively abundant. It’s also possible, given the warmer autumns that climate change is producing, that blue-winged teal will stay in Minnesota longer in fall than they traditionally have, providing October hunting opportunities of these birds as well.
Another possibility is to change the state’s current six-duck daily limit to, say, three, while removing species restrictions. Put another way, rather than worrying about whether in a six-bird limit a hunter can have only one pintail or two redheads, for example, he or she could have any mix of species and sexes, provided they kill only three ducks. (Other states are experimenting with similar ideas.)
“It’s OK to harvest adult hens if we have sufficient breeding success. But with the habitat losses and drought that we’ve had in recent years, we haven’t had that, and the last 10 years or so the continental mallard population has gone down.’’