(Hunter's Choice Bag Limit
2006-2007 Waterfowl Digest - Texas Hunting Regulations for Ducks, Mergansers, Coots, Geese and Cranes
The USFWS has granted approval for the Central Flyway to conduct a multi-year trial of the Hunter's Choice bag limit beginning with the 2006-2007 season. The purpose of the Hunter's Choice Bag Limit is to limit or reduce harvest on those species needing additional protection while maintaining full hunting opportunity (season length and bag limit) on more abundant species or stocks of ducks (e.g., drake mallards). With Hunter's Choice, individuals will be allowed to choose one bird from a list of species that have a combined aggregate bag of one, but their total daily bag limit does not have to include one of these aggregate bag limit birds. For example, a hunter could harvest five drake mallards instead of taking four drake mallards plus a single duck from the aggregate list.
The Hunter's Choice Bag Limit in the Central Flyway for the 2006 season will be:
- The daily bag limit shall be five ducks with the following species and sex restrictions - scaup, redhead, wood duck - two, only one from the following aggregate bag: one hen mallard, or one pintail, or one canvasback, or one "dusky duck" (mottled duck, Mexican-like duck, black duck and their hybrids), all other ducks not listed - five.
- For species included in the aggregate bag, the harvest of one will "buffer" the harvest of the others, thus reducing the harvest of all species needing additional protection.
Objectives of the Hunter's Choice Bag Limit
- Limit harvest on species needing special harvest management consideration.
- Maintain hunting opportunity on abundant species, especially drake mallards.
- Minimize season closures and provide an alternative to seasons-within-seasons.
- Reduce complexity of regulations and bag limit changes.
- High compliance and enforceability of regulations.
- Limit inadvertent or unintentional violations.
- Compatible with either experienced or novice and new hunters.
- Encourage hunter participation (recruitment and retention).
- Ability to evaluate effects on directing harvest to various species or stocks of ducks.
- Influence hunter behavior, including duck ID skills, species selection and ethical behavior.
- Encourage hunter's knowledge, support and ownership in duck harvest management and multiple species management objectives.