2022 Shoveler Count

Check the Otago Fish & Game team in action for the 2022 National shoveler count.
Otago Fish & Game supported the 2022 national shoveler count this week.
New Zealand shoveler duck/kuruwhengi are a native species managed by Fish & Game as a game bird. They can travel long distances and fly around New Zealand. That’s why a long-term national survey to monitor their population is critical, to ensure harvesting is sustainable.
This week more than 1500 shoveler were counted at 39 sites in Otago. A polar blast brought snow to low levels and frozen or flooded waterways, making counting challenging in some areas.
Poor weather can contribute to lower-than-normal trend counts.
Preliminary findings for Otago this year show the average number of shoveler surveyed at each site has been stable in recent years.
Fish & Game staff and volunteers visited sites around Dunedin, Clutha, East Otago, Maniototo and Central Otago.
The nationwide shoveler survey is in its 23rd year. Fish & Game staff in the North Island will collate the data and produce a national report.
Last year’s report said shoveler duck numbers at the sites counted nationally appeared to be relatively stable over the long term.
But the mean annual harvest of shoveler had been in decline. Possible reasons were decreasing daily bag limits, changes in hunter behaviour and population movement away from hunted areas.
Otago has a conservative seasonal daily bag limit of two shoveler.
Shoveler are only a small portion of the national hunter bag compared with mallard and paradise shelduck.
The shoveler hunting season in Otago ended on July 31, 2022.

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Can u see Teal being on the list of game birds?