Hi guys I'm an avid duck hunter.
I know most people are interested in the protection and preservation of waterfowl in Washington. A couple of retired aviculturists, NOAA, (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration scientists), Audubon Society bird watchers, and anti-hunters watch this forum. Some of these people aren't happy about the decline in seaducks in Washington state. I know other declining factors in seaducks are due to habitat loss, popularity in hunting, and avian flu. I wouldn't be surprised if the USFWL ran an investigation in the future about people not accurately reporting their seaduck harvest information. These people are aware of many cases of overharvesting and abuse of resources in Washington. These guys are also watching the thread in the Diver duck forum "why throw Seaducks in the trash" .
These anti-hunters have been involved with the sea duck hunting season in the Pacific Northwest area. Guides, both nonresident/ residents are advertising sea duck hunting and opportunities to get your trophy Harlequins, Barrows Goldeneye. etc Lots of out of state hunters are coming, shooting Harlequins, Barrows, and leaving with their taxidermy specimens. Unfortunately, 70% of these hunters don't return their required results. The penalty is that they can not get another license in the future. They do not care because they have their Harlequins and do not plan on coming back. Additionally, 30% of WA residents do not return their hunting results. So, consequently, the population has been steadily declining. These bird-watching and scientist groups are optimistic that F&WL will close the season for a couple of years and find a better way of staying on top of census counts. It sounds like the Harlequin season is currently closed and will be closed for a couple of years. I know I will get flammed by some arm chair internet trolls, but this last paragraph was a word-for-word response by one these anti-hunters. I would really hate to see seaduck hunting close in Washington for good if we as duck hunters don't get our act together.
I know most people are interested in the protection and preservation of waterfowl in Washington. A couple of retired aviculturists, NOAA, (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration scientists), Audubon Society bird watchers, and anti-hunters watch this forum. Some of these people aren't happy about the decline in seaducks in Washington state. I know other declining factors in seaducks are due to habitat loss, popularity in hunting, and avian flu. I wouldn't be surprised if the USFWL ran an investigation in the future about people not accurately reporting their seaduck harvest information. These people are aware of many cases of overharvesting and abuse of resources in Washington. These guys are also watching the thread in the Diver duck forum "why throw Seaducks in the trash" .
These anti-hunters have been involved with the sea duck hunting season in the Pacific Northwest area. Guides, both nonresident/ residents are advertising sea duck hunting and opportunities to get your trophy Harlequins, Barrows Goldeneye. etc Lots of out of state hunters are coming, shooting Harlequins, Barrows, and leaving with their taxidermy specimens. Unfortunately, 70% of these hunters don't return their required results. The penalty is that they can not get another license in the future. They do not care because they have their Harlequins and do not plan on coming back. Additionally, 30% of WA residents do not return their hunting results. So, consequently, the population has been steadily declining. These bird-watching and scientist groups are optimistic that F&WL will close the season for a couple of years and find a better way of staying on top of census counts. It sounds like the Harlequin season is currently closed and will be closed for a couple of years. I know I will get flammed by some arm chair internet trolls, but this last paragraph was a word-for-word response by one these anti-hunters. I would really hate to see seaduck hunting close in Washington for good if we as duck hunters don't get our act together.
