All ducks are in a row as this duck hunting season shapes up to be one of the best in years.

With a plentiful duck population and eased Covid-19 restrictions, the NZ Mountain Safety Council and Fish & Game NZ are encouraging duck hunters to have a safe and successful season.

Today, Saturday May 7, marks this season's duck shooting Opening Weekend, when majority of duck hunters take to the maimais.

'We want hunters to really enjoy duck season, but we want them to do it safely,” says MSC chief executive Mike Daisley.

During the past five years, MSC has run an annual safety campaign to encourage safe firearm use, targeting opening weekend. After the release of an emotive safety video in May 2020 to combat a rising number of firearm incidents, and subsequent campaigns using further video content, the number of firearms incidents has dropped.

According to MSC insights, there has been an average of 0.7 firearm shooting incidents per year from 2017-2021, a five-year average, compared to an average of 2.1 firearms shooting incidents per year from 2012-2021, a 10-year average.