Mallards are, if not in trouble, not doing as well as they once were.
Bob Frye/Everybody Adventures
What’s worked for setting waterfowl seasons in the past isn’t working quite as well now, so a change may be coming.
Trouble with mallards is to blame.
Since about 2000, waterfowl seasons in the Atlantic Flyway – for all species — have been based on mallard populations, said Ian Gregg, game management division chief with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
“I think for the most part our current approach has worked pretty well,” Gregg said. “But we are starting to see some problems with this.”
Namely, mallard numbers are in decline.
That’s not true of all ducks. Many other species are holding their own or even increasing, Gregg said. Such is the case with wood ducks, for example.
Under the current system, though, it’s possible the model used to set seasons and bag limits could recommend a liberal, 60-day season one year and a closed season – for all duck species – the next.
“And nobody thinks that’s where we want to go,” Gregg said.
That’s where what’s being referred to as “multi-stock management” comes in.
Going forward, biologists may examine trends with five species to set seasons. Those ducks are mallards, but also wood ducks, ring-necked ducks, goldeneyes and green-winged teal.
Those five all appear in at least some portion of the Atlantic Flyway, Gregg said. And all hail from the breeding areas that typically supply the flyway.
That multi-stock plan is not yet set in stone. It won’t be in place for this fall, and to think it will be in place by next year is also probably “overly optimistic,” Gregg said.
“But I would say by two years from now, and certainly by three or four years from now, this is the way we’re going to be setting these season selections,” he said.
As for what it all means to hunters, expect some tradeoffs.
Biologists don’t want to close seasons, ever, Gregg said. Preventing that is priority one.
So some other changes may come to be, though.
Right now, for example, there are three possibilities when it comes to season length. They’re a restrictive 30-day season, a moderate 45-day one and a liberal 60—day one. That latter has been the norm for quite a few years.
Going forward, Gregg said, liberal seasons may be shrunk to 50 days.
“That’s by no means a definite, but it is a possibility. That may be a tradeoff we need to make to reduce those chances of closed seasons,” he said.
The thinking is that over a 10-year period, it would be better to have 10 50-day seasons, than five years of 60-day seasons and five years of closed season.
Another changes might be reduced bag limits, Gregg said.
One idea being talked about is lowering the daily duck bag from six to four birds, with a reduction in the number of mallards a big part of that.
Final decisions have yet to be made, Gregg said, but it’s almost certain waterfowlers will be operating under new rules sooner rather than later.
“So stay tuned,” Gregg said.
