Merganser Season

[Jason Gillingham]

Just wondering what everyones opinion are on the merganser season opening date. Would you like to see it stay as it is? Or would you rather see it open with the sea ducks? Here in my area, you don't see a whole lot of them till the season closes, and during the first week of the season I have seen young ones that could'nt even fly. For me, in this area I have to wonder if it would be better to open them with the sea ducks or at least move it up to a later date.

[Brendan Kelly]

I Agree 100% they have a Great population and it should be extended and not opened untell later. Thanks for adding this

[Shane Pinsent]

Something tells me Jason that when we started hunting (few years ago now) that the merganser season used to open later than inland, and close lated?????

[Jason Gillingham]

Not sure Shane, but since you said it something did seem different then.

[Justin Boutcher]

I also agree 100% percent with opening the merganser season the same time as the sea ducks at least the redbreasted mergansers.  I may only be 27 but I have done alot of hunting over the years and have only seen and killed 3 redbreasted merganser before the sea duck season opened and that was in September and before I shot them I thought they had to be young commons cause we never see them here that early. On the other hand we do get common mergs here earlier in the season but they are more of an inland bird, yet the far majority don't arive till latter in the season.  And like Brendon said there population is doing really well. I can hunt our shoreline here this time of the year and there is redbreasted mergs dotting the shorline, a couple years back in February i was sea duck hunting & glassed  a piece of shoreline and counted 68 red breasted mergs in shot. And when you put out decoys this time of the year you cna pretty much assure you will have at least 4 or 5 lots of mergs come for your eiders. Here on southern coastal regions I definetly think our merg season should open latter and stay open latter.  Well that my 5 cents worth.

[kenneth Griffiths]

Sounds good jason. My way is the same thing, when the season is closed that is when you see alot of them. How many people see them in freshwater? I have benn hunting as soon as i could hold a gun and never see one in the fresh water yet. If you ask me there was not alot of study done on the merganser opening in newfoundland. I have heard alot of people say that the season should be put of untill a later date when they are around. It should be named a sea duck anyway.

[Corey Stacey]

I agree 100% with this changing of season dates.  LIke JUstin I also hunt here on the South Coast and you rarely see any amount of mergansers until the season for them closes.  If you are lucky enough to get cold weather ion December you may get a week or two to harvest these birds.  I know in the past, the season for mergs actually ran up into MARCH.  If they don't want to put them on with seaducks they could at least add a coastal season on mergs that ends when the seaducks end but close inland season as they do now.  I know in New Brunswick they can shoot mergs from Sept 18 until jan 4 then they have an additional coastal season that runs from Feb 1 to Feb 24.  THis makes much more sense.  I actually wrote a letter a few years back to the MInister of Enviroment regarding this issue but got no response.  As a collective group, we may however be able to accomplish this.  I know as well that there were several articles in the NL Sportsman regarding this issue.  NOt being forgotten in all of this is the affect that they are having on our salmon stocks.  With very little hunting pressure, their numbers are getting out of hand in my opinion.

[Jason Gillingham]

You guys are raising some really good points, I think we have a good argument here, and like Corey was saying with the proper support we may have a shot at changing this. Don't know how much longer I can hold on, but watching those mergs calming  their wings over my eider decoys and not being able to shoot, takes the life right clean out of me...lol.

[kenneth Griffiths]

I know the feeling, i have seen up to 30-40 flying over the deeks and the best thing you can do is close your eyes.We are haveing a meet on the 27 of feb so that we can be heard to all the things that is wrog with the hunting in nl. With the site growing we got to have a voice in nl.

[Edward Smith]

I have to agree Jason. In my area, we see very few til late in the freshwater season, and never in freshwater. I have seen literally thousands the day after it closed and still see hundreds throughout the salt water season. I truly think that there should be a extension of the season. but, that is just my 2 cents on that. this is a great topic to bring up at the meeting for the federation of anglers and hunters on Sunday. ED

[Jason Gillingham]

 Excellent topic indeed for the meeting ED. It seems like the population as exploded pretty much every where. But l must add, speaking on my behalf  its just the red breasted merganser I am referring too not the common. The population of commons are much different here, there are way less and seen mostly in the regular season. With the population of red breasted mergs so high what kind of affect is it having on our biodiversity?

 Don't read me wrong but I love watching these birds, and I think its great that we have got a good population of them. But on the other hand the population may be getting to good and whats the point in that if you can't hunt them!

[sterling]

I would like to see this open when the sea ducks open to . merganser season opens to early hope this changes. great topic.

[zack clarke]

i agree completly,i dont dont do alot of hunting ,but when me and my pop up the road after the inland seasoncloses lookin for eiders we can always count on seeing 8 or 10 rebreasted mergs that we can not shoot at.It just tears the life out of me to see companys of them 6 and 8 feet off land.For shure the season should open tell a later date,if it opened when the eider ducks opens and closed when the eiders closed would be perfect,but were not inna perfect world.But just a month or 2 after the inland would be a step up.Thats my opinion!