2020 Duck season arrangements
Victorian Government announces new restrictions for Melbourne's hot zones
Based on the advice of the Chief Health Officer, Stage 3 "Stay at Home" restrictions will be reinstated across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire from 11:59pm on Wednesday 8 July.
Please read the Premier of Victoria's statement for more information.
For more information, please visit the Department of Health and Human Services website.
Please note that wetlands, or parts of wetlands, are closed to hunting, or only permit restricted hunting activity. For details visit Wetland closures – 2020 duck season.
The Victorian Government announced the following arrangements for the 2020 duck hunting season.
The 2020 Duck season is now closed
Season length (modified)
Season opened – 8am on Saturday 2 May 2020
Season closed – 30 minutes after sunset on Monday 8 June 2020
Bag limits (modified)
Daily bag limit of three game ducks per day for the entire season.
Hunting the Blue-winged Shoveler is prohibited for the 2020 season.
Start times (modified)
Start times were delayed until 8:00am from Wednesday, 13 May through to Sunday, 17 May.
Hunting closed half an hour after sunset on each day.
Rest of season hunting times
For the rest of the season, hunting times started half an hour before sunrise and end half an hour after sunset.
Game Duck Species permitted to be taken (modified)
Seven of the eight species of game duck were permitted to hunt during 2020. Species permitted were the Pacific Black Duck, Mountain Duck , Chestnut Teal, Grey Teal, Pink-eared Duck, Wood Duck and Hardhead.
The Blue-winged Shoveler could not be hunted during the 2020 season due to continued low numbers.
Recently introduced regulations
Regulations were introduced in 2018 that require hunters to immediately retrieve all downed game ducks and to salvage at least the breast meat from all harvested ducks.
Other arrangements
All other hunting arrangements remain unchanged.
Only non-toxic shot can be used to hunt ducks anywhere in Victoria.
Hunters are reminded to review our information to ensure accurate identification of waterfowl, humane dispatch methods and responsible hunting techniques.
Please monitor the GMA website before and during the season to see if wetlands have been closed to hunting.
Hunters are reminded to hunt responsibly at all times.