Mallard duck numbers are increasing and Eastern Region Fish & Game are predicting a positive start to the new game bird season, which opens on Saturday, May 2.

Senior Fish & Game Officer Matthew McDougall says monitoring indicates a good breeding season 'after many years of poor productivity.”

A hunter on the move at Waewaetutuki Wetland near Te Puke. Photo: Supplied.

The Eastern Region takes in areas including the East Coast, Tauranga, Taupo, the Rangitaiki Plains and Rotorua lakes district, with bag limits over the four-week season remaining at six mallards and grey ducks per day.

'Our long term monitoring of population trends, with duck banding and other surveys, suggests the mallard population is cyclic, and over the last few years reached rock bottom,” explains Matthew.

But the banding of more than 1000 birds in the region over the summer indicated a good breeding season which bodes well for hunters.

Juvenile ducks make up a large part of the hunter's bag. 'If there are plenty around hunters tend to do well,” he adds.

But Matthew is remaining cautious because the overall mallard population remains low, and as a result of the drought some birds may not be in the best of condition.

In view of the research findings, the Eastern Fish and Game Council has again taken a conservative approach to setting this year's harvest regulations.

'We are sticking with a short, four-week season ending on the Queen's Birthday (June 1),” he says, 'with a bag limit of only six mallard and grey duck in an attempt to hasten the recovery of the population.

'We can understand that hunters would wish for more, but ask for their patience and assistance during this recovery period.”

On a positive note, Fish & Game are offering hunters the opportunity to hunt hen pheasants on the opening weekend this year, with a bag limit of one bird per day.

Senior Fish & Game Officer Matthew McDougall examines a mallard before banding it.

This will apply to all areas other than registered upland game properties where other special conditions apply.

After opening weekend, the hens are protected again and only cock pheasants will be able to be harvested for the remainder of the season, up to August 30.

Matthews says that when mallard numbers are low, other species tend to be targeted, particularly pukeko.

'We are continuing to get lots of complaints from gardeners, horticulturists, and farmers about pukeko,” he adds, 'and we encourage hunters to make the most of the longer season and 10 bird limit for this species.”

Hunters are also urged to target swan on the Rotorua Lakes and Tauranga Harbour where they remain plentiful.

An initial analysis suggests the Bay of Plenty's paradise shelduck population is low, but elsewhere numbers are comparable to earlier years, and appear to have increased on the East Coast, particularly in northern areas.

Parries can be hunted from opening until June 28 in most areas.

To get maximum value from their game bird licence, hunters are urged to take advantage of the longer upland game bird season, which runs until the end of August 2015.

Matthew says: 'When duck populations are harder because of summer droughts, pheasant and quail populations generally flourish, and there appears to have been a healthy start to the upland game breeding season.

Hunters are again being asked to report duck band details from the birds they harvest.