The second Saturday of August at 16:00 – this is the moment when the waterfowl hunting season begins every year. In recent years, the list of huntable waterfowl has been shortened, following the global status of specific species. For example, since last year, the Eurasian Wigeon is no longer huntable in Latvia. State Forest Service hunting inspectors have also observed that fewer people participate in waterfowl hunting, but those who do engage in it do so seriously and with deeper understanding.
Hunting Safety
On the opening day of waterfowl hunting – this year it was 14 August – journalist Indulis Burka from the magazine “Medības” joined a raid with State Police and State Forest Service inspectors. Hunters were checked in the Daugavpils district. It is encouraging that no violations were found during this raid. The main focus of inspectors when checking hunters is compliance with safety regulations.
Before going waterfowl hunting, it must first be registered with the responsible person of the relevant hunting collective. The exception is public bodies of water, where registration is not required. If hunting in an area that is not a public body of water or not managed by a hunting collective, written permission from the hunting rights owner of that area is mandatory. This is the first step in ensuring safety compliance during waterfowl hunting. The responsible person will prevent a situation where hunters do not know each other’s locations.
Where Hunting is Allowed
The State Forest Service (SFS) notes that waterfowl are unlimited huntable species, so there is no set daily bag limit. In public bodies of water and their shoreline protection zones, waterfowl may be hunted without coordination with the holder of hunting rights for that district.
The list of public lakes and rivers is available in Appendix 1 of the Civil Law. The SFS reminds that hunting is prohibited within city limits; therefore, waterfowl in public bodies of water located in urban administrative areas must not be hunted. However, public bodies of water may be included in protected area lists, so additional restrictions may apply. Therefore, before going waterfowl hunting, hunters must check whether the chosen location is within a specially protected nature area. If it is, the protection and usage rules for that area must be reviewed. For example, in the Lubāna wetlands and many other protected areas, the use of lead ammunition is prohibited during waterfowl hunting. This is intended not only to protect other hunters but also to ensure environmental safety.
Unfortunately, there is no single easy-to-access list of public bodies of water, protected areas, and associated restrictions. Hunters must first check whether a location has any protective status and then see if individual regulations apply that may impose specific restrictions. Attention is needed if a protected area has no individual regulations, as general protection rules may still apply.
Lead Ammunition Ban
In Latvia, lead ammunition has been prohibited in specially protected nature areas for many years. From January 2023, regulations prohibiting the use of lead shot in wetlands and nearby areas came into effect. Currently, hunting waterfowl with lead ammunition in private ponds is still allowed, but it will likely be prohibited in about a year and a half.
When choosing to use lead-free shot, ensure that the firearm is designed for such ammunition. Some choke tubes or barrel constrictions cannot safely be used with lead-free ammunition.
Reporting Harvested Waterfowl
Since 2005, Latvia has run the “Study of Nesting and Harvested Waterfowl” project with hunters’ assistance, conducted by the University of Latvia Institute of Biology.
Last year, reports were received from 99 hunters for at least 460 hunting trips, including a total of 1,271 ducks and teal, 237 geese, 195 injured or missing birds, and 29 unsuccessful hunting trips. Project leader and researcher Antra Stīpniece notes that long-term changes can be evaluated because the study has been ongoing for many years. A significant decrease in the proportion of young birds in the hunter’s bag has been observed for teal, mallard, and wigeon. A similar trend for teal has also been noted in Finland. Increasingly, the Garganey is observed nesting and reported by hunters.
For several years, reporting harvested waterfowl has become very simple. It can be conveniently done via the website “Nomeditie.org.” Scientists request a photo of the harvested bird, as well as information on location, time, and other conditions. A waterfowl identification guide is also available on the site.