2025 Gamebird harvest report

The Game Management Authority (GMA) has today released the Estimates of duck and Stubble Quail harvest in Victoria 2025.

The Game Management Authority (GMA) has today released the Estimates of duck and Stubble Quail harvest in Victoria 2025.

Game duck harvest

Results show 9,950 active duck hunters harvested an estimated 487,800 game ducks in 2025. This is 46 per cent above the long-term average of 334,200 game ducks, due to higher than average total hunting days and increased hunter efficiency.

On average, active duck hunters harvested an estimated 49 ducks during the season over an average of 10.9 days. The total number of hunter days recorded for the 2025 duck season was 108,600.

The three most commonly harvested species were the Pacific Black Duck (36 per cent), Grey Teal (29 per cent) and Australian Wood Duck (24 per cent).

The most popular hunting areas, with the highest numbers of ducks harvested, were around the towns of Sale, Boort, Kerang, Shepparton and Horsham.

In 2025, there were 20,100 hunters licensed to hunt game ducks in Victoria.

Information on game duck harvest is used to inform Adaptive Harvest Management in Victoria (AHM).

The 2025 game duck harvest shows that the first-year performance of the bag model for AHM was within 1.8 per cent of the 2025 seasonal harvest quota, with a harvest of 12.2 per cent of total abundance and 10.4 per cent being the target.

A technical report on 2025 game duck abundance and elements of AHM will be available in April 2026. See Adaptive Harvest Management for game ducks in Victoria, for more information.

Stubble Quail harvest

Results show an estimated 48,000 Stubble Quail were harvested in 2025. This is 72 per cent below the long-term average Stubble Quail harvest (178,000), due to fewer active hunters.

On average, active quail hunters harvested an estimated 22.8 Stubble Quail for the season over 3.8 days. The total number of hunter days recorded for the 2025 quail season was 8,100.

The most popular quail hunting areas were around the towns of Geelong, Horsham, Echuca, Ararat and Stratford. The highest number of quail harvested were around the towns of Horsham, Geelong, Echuca, Ararat and Donald.

In 2025, there were more than 20,828 hunters licensed to hunt duck and Stubble Quail in Victoria, of which 10% actively hunted Stubble Quail.

Throughout 2025, approximately 3,800 licenced game bird hunters were surveyed to collect information about their hunting activity, including how many game birds were harvested, where hunting occurred, hunting methods used, and the species of game birds harvested.

The report is produced annually by the GMA in collaboration with an independent telephone survey company and the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

Read the full copy of the Estimates of duck and Stubble Quail harvest in Victoria 2025 report.

Contact: Nick Foster | 0417 293 365 | nick.foster@gma.vic.gov.au